Both Brazilian presidential candidates have asked that their rival be barred from the race, accusing each other of social media interference and raising political tensions ahead of the decisive October 25 vote.
Bolsonaro camp sues Lula
Right-wing candidate Flavio Bolsonaro has asked that his opponent, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, have his candidacy annulled on grounds of illegal campaigning. Bolsonaro's lawyers filed with the Supreme Electoral Court on Tuesday, arguing that Lula "abused his power" by distributing a flood of government information during the campaign period through the WhatsApp messaging app.
According to Brazilian media, the Bolsonaro camp alleges the Brazilian government sent mass messages to millions of people via the service, promoting social programs, benefits and government initiatives in the middle of the presidential race. The suit asks that Lula and Social Communication Minister Sidonio Palmeira be declared ineligible to hold public office for eight years.
Lula camp accuses Meta of "algorithm manipulation"
On the other side, Lula's campaign said Tuesday it would seek Bolsonaro's removal on Wednesday, accusing WhatsApp parent company Meta, the technology group, of election interference. According to a campaign source who spoke to AFP, Lula's filing accuses Meta of "manipulating algorithms" to reduce Lula's chances of winning.
Earlier, the Supreme Electoral Court on Monday gave Meta 24 hours to prove it was complying with an order to treat both campaigns equally, warning of a fine of about $200,000 per day for non-compliance. The order came after Lula's campaign accused Meta — which owns Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram — of blocking his online content to help Bolsonaro. On Tuesday the company said it had completed implementation of measures to comply with the court's decision.
A tight race
Lula and Bolsonaro are locked in a fierce presidential race after the right-wing candidate, the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, won the first round of voting earlier this month with 47% of the vote, compared with 45% for the incumbent president. Polls show the race is very close ahead of Sunday's decisive vote.
