Accra:Meta has denied claims of political favoritism towards Brazilian presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro following a court ruling that mandates equal treatment between him and the incumbent, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, before their runoff on October 25.

According to Anadolu Agency – English, a report by the Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo revealed internal messages suggesting that Meta employees were aware of restrictions affecting Lula's Instagram accounts while recommending Bolsonaro's profiles and channels. Lula's campaign highlighted issues such as the absence of sharing options on posts, reduced reach, and technical problems impacting audio and user engagement.

Lula's team plans to file a complaint with the Organization of American States, accusing Meta of social media manipulation during the election. Meta responded by stating that the technical problems were already public knowledge and any internal discussions focused on their severity, not political bias. The company emphasized that its policies are equally applied to all candidates.

On Thursday, Brazil's top electoral court ordered Meta not to unjustifiably limit the reach of political content for either candidate during the campaign. The ruling also instructed Meta AI, the company's chatbot, to remain neutral in election-related content.

This controversy follows a surprisingly strong first-round performance by Bolsonaro, who is set to face Lula in the final round. Meanwhile, Lula's administration has been advocating for stricter regulation of tech platforms, targeting illegal content and misinformation.

Additionally, research from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro indicated that Meta permitted at least 1,613 irregular political ads between July and September, resulting in 171 million views and generating approximately 2 million reais ($400,000) in revenue. Meta stated it would continue to defend itself against the lawsuit.