World
Lula campaign registers Exército do Lula WhatsApp channel with Brazil’s electoral court
The filing came after a court fight over the messaging tool’s role in the campaign. Lula’s lawyers said the move does not mean the campaign runs the channel.
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s campaign on Tuesday the 13th registered with Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court the WhatsApp channel known as Exército do Lula, following a legal dispute over its use during the election.
The channel, coordinated by congressman André Janones, has more than 4 million subscribers and is used to share audio, videos and guidance for Lula supporters.
The filing was made before the court’s party systems and data management unit. O Globo and Agência Brasil reported that the step came after TSE president Kássio Nunes Marques said the channel could only remain active if it was formally registered with electoral authorities.
According to those outlets, Lula’s legal team told the court the registration was carried out only to comply with the judicial order and does not mean the campaign has taken over management of the channel. The lawyers also said the tool was created and is run by Janones, without direct supervision from the campaign.
The dispute began after a complaint from Flávio Bolsonaro’s campaign, which challenged the use of the channel and alleged it was spreading disinformation. Agência Brasil reported that a technical review ordered by Nunes Marques himself said it had not found disinformation content on the pro-Lula channel.
Agência Brasil also said Nunes Marques had ordered the full suspension of the channel on Saturday the 10th, that the ruling was overturned on Sunday the 11th by electoral inspector Ricardo Villas Bôas Cueva, and that on Tuesday the TSE president again ordered the channel taken down because it had not been formally registered.
On when the channel can resume activity, O Globo and Agência Brasil said the court’s understanding was that even after registration, a 48-hour waiting period must pass before posting can restart. Folha de S.Paulo, however, reported that Kássio Nunes Marques cleared the channel.
With the registration entered into the electoral justice system, Lula’s campaign now formally assumes responsibility for the posts and communications distributed through the platform, according to O Globo.
Sources
About this piece. Written by El Notero with AI assistance, from reporting published by the outlet cited above. El Notero did no original reporting on this story.
