Photo: Jovem Pan.
Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court (TSE) took two procedural steps concerning the “Exército do Lula” WhatsApp channel during the final days of the presidential campaign. On Oct. 22, TSE president Kassio Nunes Marques ordered Meta to provide information about the channel’s reach, engagement, possible coordinated distribution, paid promotion and removed or altered content. The request followed a complaint from Senator Flávio Bolsonaro’s campaign. It sought evidence for the court’s review and did not itself establish a legal violation.
On Oct. 23, Justice Floriano de Azevedo Marques barred the TSE presidency from administratively suspending or restricting the channel. The measure was preventive and followed a request from Lula’s campaign. The channel is administered by federal deputy André Janones and used to distribute campaign messages and mobilization requests. Reporting by Folha said it had more than 10 million subscribers.
On Oct. 24, the Electoral Prosecutor General’s Office (PGE) advised that restrictions on the channel, its users or its administrator required a judicial decision rather than an administrative act by the court’s president. Prosecutor General Alexandre Espinosa said collective coordination and simultaneous sharing do not by themselves establish illegality. The PGE asked for further information about a paid advertisement that directed users to the channel, while opposing the other requests to shut it down.
The record therefore contains distinct questions: what Meta’s data may show about the channel and whether election authorities can impose restrictions administratively. The PGE opinion was advisory; the court’s order to Meta was an evidence request, not a ruling that the channel or its administrator committed an offense.