Brazil's Electoral Court Acts on Lula-Related Online Posts and Samba School Case

Judge Paulo Sanseverino of Brazil's Superior Electoral Court (TSE) issued an order on 4 October to censor 29 tweets and a Facebook video that linked President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to Nicaraguan leader Daniel Ortega. The decision, issued on the day of the first‑round election, requires Twitter and Facebook to remove the content within 24 hours or face a daily fine of 10,000 reais. The court said the posts intentionally portrayed Lula as an ally of Ortega, a claim it deemed false despite factual accuracy.

In a separate matter, the TSE has been trying for five months to formally notify the samba school Acadêmicos de Niterói, which faced a lawsuit alleging early electoral propaganda after its February 15 Carnival parade honored Lula. The court rejected requests to block the parade or Lula’s participation, judging such pre‑emptive bans as censorship. After two failed mail deliveries, the TSE now seeks to serve the citation through a bailiff at two addresses and at the school’s venue in Rio’s Gamboa district.