Overview

On October 15, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s campaign filed a complaint against Meta with Brazil’s electoral court, alleging that the company’s content distribution and AI restrictions favored rival Flávio Bolsonaro. The Associated Press said the filing described different results for similar campaign-image requests; a same-day report from Fast Company Brasil said a fresh test found Meta AI rejecting poster prompts for either candidate.

The complaint spans reach and image generation

The complaint, which AP said it had seen, alleges that Lula campaign material and organic posts suffered unjustified reductions in reach and that Meta failed to follow an earlier plan submitted to the electoral court. It also says WhatsApp’s Meta AI would not generate campaign images for Lula, while requests supporting Flávio Bolsonaro succeeded.

Those are allegations from the campaign. AP reported no ruling on the claims and said Meta did not immediately respond to its request for comment on the new filing.

Fresh testing showed refusals for both candidates

Fast Company Brasil reported on October 15 that a new test found Meta AI refusing requests to create posters using candidates’ names and ballot numbers. Meta told the publication it had added restrictions so those prompts would no longer generate images.

That makes the latest test look more uniform. It does not establish when the rule took effect or whether the earlier difference came from an isolated filter failure, a policy change, or differences between accounts and locations.

A court can ask for tests others can repeat

With Brazil’s runoff scheduled for October 25, the way an image tool handles a candidate’s name and ballot number can affect what campaign teams can create and how voters judge platform neutrality. A useful audit would hold the account, language, location, and timing constant, change only the candidate, and repeat the request.

Until the court rules, the campaign’s claims remain unverified allegations. A later refusal for both candidates records a change in output; on its own, it cannot explain the earlier discrepancy.

Sources consulted for this piece

Associated Press, “Brazil’s Lula challenges Meta at electoral court for alleged algorithmic bias and AI restrictions,” published October 15, 2026 at 22:41:18 UTC.

Fast Company Brasil, “IA da Meta gerou cartaz com “Flávio 22” e barrou “Lula 13”; empresa é questionada no TSE,” page dated October 15, 2026; time zone not stated.