In October 2026, a coalition of Brazilian civil society groups and digital rights advocates launched a high-profile campaign to hold Meta accountable for what they claim are discriminatory content moderation practices during Brazil’s presidential runoff. Under the slogan Meta não se meta—a playful yet pointed phrase meaning “Meta, stay out of it”—activists accused the tech giant of suppressing content supporting President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva while allegedly favoring his far-right rival, Flávio Bolsonaro.
The initiative, naosemeta.com.br, was launched by organizations including CTRL+Z, ARTIGO 19 Brasil, and Sleeping Giants Brasil, offering users three direct avenues to pressure Meta: sending emails, messaging the company’s local leadership on LinkedIn, and engaging with Mark Zuckerberg’s public posts. A formal extrajudicial notification was also delivered to Meta on October 19, demanding transparency over its advertising, moderation, and AI systems—allegedly rigged to disadvantage Lula’s campaign.
The campaign followed a protest outside Meta’s São Paulo offices, where demonstrators—including representatives from the Homeless Workers Movement’s Technology Center—challenged the company’s influence over Brazil’s digital sovereignty. Activists framed Meta’s actions as part of a broader pattern of foreign interference, citing historical ties between U.S. President Donald Trump and Brazil’s former leader Jair Bolsonaro, Flávio’s father.
Meta’s alleged bias came into sharper focus after the first round of voting in early October, when Bolsonaro briefly led. In response, left-wing Congressman André Janones relaunched his WhatsApp channel, Lula’s Army, which quickly amassed millions of followers. The channel coordinated digital strategies to amplify Lula’s messaging, teaching supporters how to interact with campaign content to counteract Meta’s algorithms. The tactic resonated: by the runoff’s end on October 25, Lula secured a decisive victory, a result activists attributed to their ability to “tame” the platform’s biases.
The campaign’s momentum was amplified by Brazil’s status as a global leader in digital rights, though recent legal shifts have complicated the landscape. In June 2025, the country’s Supreme Court ruled that Meta and other platforms could no longer shield themselves from liability for third-party content under the Marco Civil da Internet, a landmark law protecting digital freedoms. Critics say the ruling shows Meta must increase transparency, a demand it has not met.
Sleeping Giants Brasil, among others, has documented evidence of Meta’s alleged algorithmic favoritism toward Bolsonaro’s allies, including right-wing figures like Nikolas Ferreira. While the full extent of Meta’s role remains under scrutiny, the coordinated push for accountability reflects broader concerns about tech giants’ influence over democratic processes worldwide.
As of October 26, 2026, the campaign continues to gather signatures for a petition to Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court, demanding an official investigation into Meta’s moderation practices during the election.
