Instagram Algorithm Found Favoring Bolsonaro in Brazil Election Runoff

To measure potential bias, the nonprofit organization Ekō established a neutral Instagram account on October 14, interacting equally with the profiles of Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro. The results indicated a stark disparity: 74% of the recommended political content favored the Bolsonaro camp, while only 18% leaned toward Lula’s platform. This imbalance persists despite data showing that pro-Lula posts consistently outperformed their counterparts in engagement metrics, including likes, comments, and shares.

Vanessa Lemos, a senior campaigner at Ekō, characterized the findings as evidence of Meta interfering in the democratic process. The report arrives alongside growing international alarm, including warnings from United Nations experts who noted that thousands of accounts—ranging from journalists to human rights defenders—have faced visibility restrictions on Meta platforms. While the company maintains it has implemented measures to ensure equal treatment, internal employee acknowledgments and formal requests for disqualification filed by the Lula campaign suggest a deepening crisis of accountability for the tech giant.