Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court has ordered an investigation into the 2026 presidential campaign of far-right senator Flávio Bolsonaro over suspected illegal foreign financing, alleged manipulation of digital platforms and possible agreements involving the exploitation of strategic minerals and rare earth elements.
Justice Flávio Dino issued the decision under Constitutional Action ADPF 1178 following formal requests from President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s campaign and Renan Santos, a former presidential candidate from the Missão movement. Bolsonaro, the Liberal Party’s candidate, lost the election’s run-off to Lula.
The court said Brazilian constitutional and legal provisions prohibit political parties and candidates from receiving funds from foreign entities or governments. Federal Police have been tasked with determining whether the US conservative organisation Rockbridge Network, allegedly through Brazilian businessmen Tallis Gomes and Pedro Sang, offered financial resources, services or other economic advantages to Bolsonaro’s campaign.
Rockbridge, which is linked to the political origins of US Vice-President JD Vance, is at the centre of inquiries into possible connections between campaign financing and wider economic interests. Investigators will examine whether any arrangements linked political support to the exploitation or control of strategic minerals and rare earth elements in Brazil, resources that have attracted interest from the administration of US President Donald Trump.
Ten federal agencies have received instructions to assist the investigation, including the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Abin), the Council for Financial Activities Control (Coaf), the Federal Revenue Service and the Central Bank.
The court has also ordered an inquiry into Meta, the owner of WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook, over what the ruling described as “intentional asymmetries and algorithmic manipulations” affecting electoral content.
Documents cited in the case contain internal messages in which employees allegedly acknowledged restrictions on the promotion of Lula’s advertisements while Bolsonaro’s profile received irregular positioning. United Nations experts had previously warned of the risk of an artificially created electoral imbalance.
Federal Police will investigate paid content favourable to the far right that was distributed through accounts based abroad without proper identification of those who commissioned it. The inquiry will also examine the use of Polymarket projections to influence public perceptions of the election.
The dispute over Meta’s handling of political content predates the latest ruling. On 15 October, a judge had already prohibited the company from interfering with the distribution of electoral content following complaints from progressive groups. Meta denied favouritism, attributing the alleged imbalance to an artificial intelligence glitch that benefited the Liberal Party candidate.
The investigation comes as Bolsonaro faces a separate legal dispute over his reported departure from Brazil. Lawmakers from Lula’s ruling Workers’ Party have asked the courts to order his preventive detention and seek an Interpol red notice, alleging that he left for the United States to evade Brazilian justice.
The request followed a Supreme Federal Court order requiring Bolsonaro to surrender his passports within 24 hours. Regional media reported that he had travelled to the United States via Argentina, although his precise whereabouts remained unknown in the supplied reports. His campaign team had neither confirmed nor denied the reported departure, while Federal Police increased border inspections and continued investigating whether he had left the country.
The senator is also subject to investigations overseen by Justices Alexandre de Moraes and André Mendonça. These concern alleged money-laundering schemes connected to betting houses and large transfers involving lawyer Willer Tomaz, as well as alleged irregularities in fundraising for the film Dark Horse.
The latest electoral investigation broadens the scrutiny beyond Bolsonaro’s personal conduct to the sources of campaign financing and the digital distribution of political messages. Federal Police will determine whether the allegations involving Rockbridge, Meta and other actors are supported by evidence.
