São Paulo (EFE).- Supporters of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva protested outside the São Paulo headquarters of tech giant Meta on Monday, six days before the election. They accused the company of favoring content from opposition candidate Flávio Bolsonaro.
Organized by the platform «Não Se Meta,» the protest drew about 200 demonstrators who demanded that the company, led by Mark Zuckerberg, explain its actions.
The protesters accused Meta of «interfering in the elections and harming President Lula by reducing the reach of his posts and boosting those of Flavio.»
«Meta cannot be an invisible judge of the electoral process,» they argued outside the company’s Brazil headquarters, accusing it of committing electoral crimes since the 2018 election, when Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2023) became president.
On Monday, the Superior Electoral Court gave Meta, the company that owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, 24 hours to demonstrate that it guarantees equal treatment for the campaigns of the two candidates for the Planalto Palace.
Both Lula and Bolsonaro have filed complaints with the electoral court, alleging that their political content is disadvantaged on Meta’s platforms. The company has denied any interference in the elections.
One of the rally’s goals was to demand that the tech giant stop «manipulating elections through social media» and «preventing content aimed at the working class from reaching them.»
Protesters denounced the removal or reduction of content, noting that it impacts public debate and the balance of the electoral contest. They also noted that 70% of the Brazilian population gets its news from Instagram.
«Digital sovereignty is no joke. It’s something that must be taken very seriously,» declared Veronyka Gimenes, an activist known on social media as Trava Hacker.
According to Gimenes, companies like Meta are part of a “digital colonialism” project that aims to dominate countries like Brazil and experiment with their electoral processes.
«In Lula’s fourth term, we will achieve autonomy with our own social media platforms, open and transparent,» said fellow activist Tiana Cauton. She added that «we must take to the streets for the right to communication.»
«Big Tech is part of the hate industry that has blood on its hands,» claimed Mandi Coelho, an activist who traveled to Gaza with the Global Sumud Flotilla.
While holding banners and signs featuring photos of Zuckerberg and United States President Donald Trump, attendees chanted: “Digital sovereignty! Meta out of the electoral process!” EFE
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