Brazilian Protesters Storm Meta Office, Paint Zuckerberg as the Devil

On a humid Tuesday morning, the glass façade of Meta’s São Paulo office became a stage for a very loud, very visual protest. Hundreds of people gathered, waving makeshift signs, wearing devil‑horned masks that mimicked Mark Zuckerberg’s face, and carrying giant paper effigies that looked suspiciously like the tech mogul in his own infernal costume.

The crowd’s fury wasn’t random. It was sparked by a recent order from Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court, which asked Meta to hand over evidence that the platform had treated the two presidential hopefuls—incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and far‑right challenger Flávio Bolsonaro—on an even playing field. The request came after a string of controversies that left many Brazilians convinced the social‑media giant was tilting the political balance.

Earlier this month, Meta quietly locked down more than a thousand accounts linked to Lula, a figure often likened to Brazil’s own Bernie Sanders. At the same time, Bolsonaro’s supporters claimed the company was subtly amplifying their posts, giving them a boost that seemed out of proportion. For many, the two actions felt like two sides of the same coin—one of suppression, the other of amplification.

That perception drove the protestors to the streets. One banner, splashed in blood‑red paint, showed a snarling Zuckerberg with dollar signs for eyes and the words “bilionário safado” scrawled underneath—Portuguese for “billionaire scoundrel.” Another sign simply read “não se Meta,” a clever double‑meaning that translates to “don’t be Meta” while also urging the company to stay out of politics.

Meta’s official response was, unsurprisingly, defensive. Spokespeople told the Associated Press that any apparent bias was the result of two global service outages, not a calculated meddling. The company insists it is cooperating with the court and will submit the requested data soon.

The drama in Brazil isn’t isolated. Across the Atlantic, The Guardian reported that Meta had temporarily suspended Instagram accounts belonging to the No Kings coalition—a loose‑leaf liberal group active in U.S. voter‑registration drives. Meanwhile, Instagram engineers confessed they’re still figuring out how to curb the avalanche of AI‑generated content that floods the platform every day.

All of this adds up to a growing sense that a trillion‑dollar tech behemoth is, whether intentionally or not, shaping political conversations in multiple democracies. As Brazil’s pivotal run‑off election looms, the world watches to see whether Meta can prove its neutrality—or whether the devil’s mask will stick.