Meta is accused of ignoring a Brazilian electoral court order to treat presidential candidates equally. On Monday, the watchdog groups Sleeping Giants Brasil and CTRL+Z sent new evidence to the Superior Electoral Court saying Instagram and WhatsApp tools keep favoring Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro of the Liberal Party over President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of the Workers' Party.
The petition went to Justice Marco Aurélio Bellizze, who oversees the case, according to a report by journalist Mônica Bergamo in Folha de S.Paulo. The groups ask him to order Meta to fix the alleged irregularities within 24 hours, explain how its search rankings and AI answers are produced, and enforce the daily fine of R$500,000 (about $99,000) already set by the court.
What the Watchdogs Say Meta AI Is Doing
The new records involve animated GIF searches, the ordering of hashtags and answers from Meta AI, the artificial intelligence system built into WhatsApp. The organizations say these results spontaneously link Lula to derogatory content while boosting the Liberal Party candidate.
This continues despite an earlier electoral court order requiring Meta to guarantee equal conditions for both campaigns. The groups argue the pattern points to possible unequal treatment of the two candidates on platforms used by millions of Brazilians.
Why the Brazilian Case Matters Beyond Brazil
Brazil has become a testing ground for how far courts can push global platforms on election fairness. The Superior Electoral Court's order and the proposed daily fine show regulators are willing to use financial pressure when they believe a platform is not complying.
For Meta, the case adds to a growing list of election-integrity fights in countries where WhatsApp and Instagram shape political debate. Watchdogs in other regions are watching how Brazilian courts handle AI-generated political content.
