Meta told Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court (TSE) that it had taken steps to treat the presidential campaigns of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro equally and had reviewed 1,204 potentially synthetic political-electoral posts. In a response dated Oct. 19, Meta reported three categories from that review and asked the court to recognize measures it said it had completed.
The TSE had directed Meta to demonstrate equal treatment within 24 hours. The reported conditional fine for noncompliance rose from R$500,000 to R$1 million per day. Meta also asked the court to set aside fines for obligations it said it had met and to allow more time for remaining information.
What Meta said it reviewed
Meta’s reported breakdown divides the 1,204 posts into three categories:
| Category in Meta’s account | Posts |
| Made unavailable | 720 |
| Already carried the required label | 270 |
| Deemed unrelated to electoral content | 214 |
The figures, reported by Exame on Oct. 20, came from Meta’s own submission. The company also said it reviewed 255 profiles and found no signs of coordinated inauthentic behavior.
What the TSE’s directions covered
Reports on the court’s directions described requirements covering more than what appears in a feed. They included restrictions on unequal reductions in political content’s reach, excluding content from recommendations, limiting search results, or adjusting metrics unequally. The TSE also reportedly required Portuguese-language reports, individualized information about political ads, and documentation of measures related to restricted post promotion.
A raw count of removed posts would not, by itself, show whether the same standards were applied: different content can produce different totals under consistent rules. The reported directions focused on unequal treatment and restrictions, rather than matching removal numbers between campaigns.
NeoTeo previously covered the TSE’s equal-treatment order and the allegations behind it.
The campaign allegations and Meta’s response
Lula’s campaign alleged problems involving the visibility and promotion of its content, restrictions on some posts, and different results from Meta AI image-generation requests. Meta denied political favoritism. In an Oct. 16 account, the Associated Press reported that Meta attributed cited incidents to technical disruptions, anti-fraud measures, and regulatory compliance. Meta also pointed to a loophole involving generic first names and election numbers that affected some AI image requests.
The TSE’s action required Meta to demonstrate equal treatment. The company’s later submission described the steps and reviews it said it had carried out, and asked the court to recognize those measures.
