The plenary chamber of Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court in Brasília. File photo, 12 May 2026. (Photo: TSE, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

BRAZIL · ELECTIONS

Published Thursday, 22 October, 5:12 p.m. ET · Source: Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court (TSE) order, as reported by Gazeta do Povo and O Tempo

Kassio Nunes Marques, president of Brazil’s electoral court (TSE), ordered Meta on Thursday 22 October to deliver a detailed technical report within 24 hours on the pro-Lula WhatsApp channel “Exército do Lula” (Lula’s Army). The order came after a request from the campaign of Flávio Bolsonaro, senator for Rio de Janeiro, according to Gazeta do Povo.

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Runoff poll average: Flávio Bolsonaro 50.9%, Lula 49.1%

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The order lands three days before the Brazil election 2026 runoff on Sunday 25 October, in which Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazil’s president, faces Flávio. For readers in the United States, it shows how far the fight over social media, a main campaign battleground, now reaches into a court that controls the vote.

What the Electoral Court Ordered

Nunes Marques asked Meta, which owns WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and Threads, for an urgent technical report, O Tempo reported. It must cover coordinated action, reach, interaction and sharing, and paid promotion, across Facebook, Instagram and Threads.

The period under review is 18 to 20 October 2026, Gazeta do Povo reported. The order also names Google among the platforms asked about coordinated efforts to expand the channel’s reach.

The Channel and the Campaign’s Complaint

“Exército do Lula” is a WhatsApp channel with more than 8 million followers, according to Gazeta do Povo. It is run by federal deputy André Janones, and earlier reports put its size far lower.

Flávio’s lawyers say the channel tells supporters to post hashtags at set times, repeat ready-made messages and run coordinated Google searches, O Tempo reported. One example they cite is a call to search for the phrase “Bolsonaro mandou matar Lula” (Bolsonaro ordered Lula killed), according to Gazeta do Povo.

How the Dispute Reached This Point

On Sunday 11 October, Nunes Marques ordered the channel blocked, but the same day Ricardo Villas Bôas Cueva, the court’s inspector-general (corregedor-geral), suspended that decision, Correio da Manhã reported. Today’s order asks for information, not a new block.

Our earlier reporting on the court’s handling of the case is in our explainer on the channel. This latest step moves the focus from one channel to the platforms that carry it.

What Prediction Markets Say

Polymarket bettors give Flávio Bolsonaro a 77.8% chance of winning the 25 October runoff and Lula 22.5% (22 October, 4:50 p.m. ET). The market has drawn about US$191.9 million in bets, and these are bets, not polls.

Kalshi, a market regulated in the US by the CFTC, prices a Flávio win by 3–6 points at 37% and by 0–3 points at 33% (22 October, 4:49 p.m. ET).

Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.

What It Means for US Readers

Meta and Google are US companies, and a Brazilian court is now asking them for evidence about how election content spreads. Their answers, due on Friday 23 October by the court’s own deadline, could shape how US platforms handle the final days before the vote.

Investors watching Brazilian assets can treat this as one more source of campaign noise, not a change in the vote count. The court has not accused anyone of wrongdoing; it has asked for data.

What Is Not Known

Neither Meta, Google nor Lula’s campaign had published a response when we checked. It is not known what the companies will hand over, or whether the court will act on it before Sunday.

The campaign’s claims of coordinated manipulation are allegations, not findings. On 12 October, the court’s own technical staff said they had not found the content the campaign cited among the channel’s posts from 2 to 11 October, CNN Brasil reported.

More: Brazil news in English, every day from The Rio Times.

Frequently Asked Questions

What did Brazil’s electoral court order Meta to do?

It gave Meta 24 hours to deliver a technical report on the “Exército do Lula” WhatsApp channel. The report covers 18 to 20 October 2026.

Who asked for the order?

Flávio Bolsonaro’s presidential campaign asked for it. It says the channel manipulates online algorithms by mobilising supporters.

What is the “Exército do Lula” channel?

It is a WhatsApp channel with more than 8 million followers, run by federal deputy André Janones. Lula’s campaign treats it as an important tool.

Does the order block the channel?

No. It asks for information from Meta and Google. A block ordered on 11 October was suspended the same day by another judge.

When is Brazil’s runoff?

Brazilians vote on Sunday 25 October 2026. The choice is between President Lula and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro.

Sources: Gazeta do Povo, 22 October 2026; O Tempo, 22 October 2026; Estadão, 22 October 2026; O Antagonista, 22 October 2026; CNN Brasil, 12 October 2026.

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief