Meta denies political bias against Lula in Brazil's presidential election
What's the story
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has been accused of political bias during Brazil's presidential election. The lawsuit was filed by incumbent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's campaign. They alleged that Meta was using biased algorithms and AI restrictions to favor opposition candidate Flavio Bolsonaro. The case mirrors similar ones in Romania and Germany where courts had to intervene against platform bias.
Response
Technical glitches, not political bias: Meta
In response to the allegations, Meta has said that the recent issues on its platforms were due to unrelated global technical glitches and strict anti-fraud measures.
The company stressed that these problems weren't part of a deliberate attempt to suppress content based on political ideology.
"Brazilian voters deserve facts, not a political narrative constructed by combining unrelated technical issues," Meta said in a statement.
Technical issues
Meta admits to 2 global technical disruptions
Meta acknowledged two global technical disruptions earlier this month.
One affected view counts on Instagram Reels in over 100 countries, but content distribution wasn't impacted.
The other briefly interrupted ad creation from existing Instagram posts for a day.
Addressing the concerns about its AI, Meta said a loophole involving generic first names and electoral numbers temporarily prevented some users from generating images of Lula while allowing them for Bolsonaro.
Algorithmic bias
Illegal algorithmic recommendations for Bolsonaro
Despite addressing some concerns, Meta didn't explain why Bolsonaro's Instagram and WhatsApp channels got algorithmic recommendations.
This practice was deemed illegal by Brazil's electoral court.
Further complicating matters for Meta in Brazil, a study from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro revealed that the platform ran at least 1,613 irregular political ads between July and September.
These ads were primarily funded from the US and generated around 2 million reais ($400,000) in revenue.