interference on Saturday, alleging that his social media content was blocked on its platforms. Lula, a leftist leader seeking a fourth non-consecutive term, faces Senator Flavio Bolsonaro—son of far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro—in an October 25 runoff election. In a statement, Lula's campaign reported several incidents in which Meta allegedly restricted the distribution of his content. The campaign claimed that in recent days Meta "prevented President Lula's profile from promoting Instagram feed posts," while a post from his official account "experienced an interruption in view counts, which affected its reach." It also said that before  Sunday's first round of voting—in which Flavio Bolsonaro finished first—the profiles of Lula and other leftist leaders "suddenly disappeared from Instagram's search function." The campaign argued that "the series of technical issues... raises strong suspicions that Meta's actions constitute an attempt to interfere in the Brazilian electoral process to the benefit of Flavio Bolsonaro's candidacy." Brazil's Superior Electoral Court (TSE) responded on Saturday by giving Meta 48 hours to clarify whether it reduced the reach of posts by Lula's campaign and to explain the reported irregularities. Meta was ordered to "report, profile by profile, all the measures applied" to "Lula's official accounts" and to "explain the anomalies in the metrics" of the videos. Meta's Brazil office denied the accusations, calling them "simply false" and "not supported by the facts." The company told AFP that "many of the technical issues mentioned did not affect only Brazil or specific accounts," adding that it complies with electoral regulations and is "committed to a level playing field regarding the use of our platforms." Lula's campaign has filed a complaint with the electoral court over the alleged blocks. Following the first round, Lula—who does not use a mobile phone—launched a social media push featuring videos addressing his online followers. (Bssnews)