Brazil's senator and former presidential candidate for the Liberal Party (PL) Flavio Bolsonaro gestures during a graduation ceremony of new military police officers at the Center of Improvement and Training of Soldiers (CFAP) at Sulacap neighbourhood in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on September 25, 2026.

Brazil's Supreme Court on Tuesday, October 27, ordered police to investigate alleged foreign funding of defeated right-wing senator Flavio Bolsonaro's election campaign, and other interference from abroad such as social media "manipulation."

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, 81, on Sunday won re-election after a bitter campaign. Bolsonaro has yet to concede defeat, vowing to legally challenge Lula's victory. Justice Flavio Dino ordered the investigation of "the possible origin, circulation and destination of foreign resources" during the campaign. He also ordered the probe of "deliberate asymmetries and algorithmic manipulation by internet companies aimed at favoring or harming candidacies in Brazil's electoral process." Dino cited press reports and allegations from political parties in his request for an investigation.

Lula's campaign complained about interference in the election by Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram, claiming "algorithmic manipulation." Meta denies taking any actions to favor one side in the election, but previously said that some of Lula's campaign ads had been mistakenly deactivated due to technical errors.

Dino cited Meta's oversight board, which said in the run-up to the election that it had found failures in content moderation, including "over-enforcement that suppresses political speech, and under-enforcement that undermines electoral integrity." Le Monde with AFP