Brazil votes in a tight presidential runoff between Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro

Brazilians vote on Sunday in a presidential runoff between President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro, son of the jailed former president. Bolsonaro won the first round 47% to 45%, and final polls show a close race. More than a million Lula supporters rallied on Copacabana beach on Saturday.

L 51%C 30%R 19%

L 51% · C 30% · R 19% · 27 outlets

Left 3 · Centre-left 11 · Centre 8 · Centre-right 2 · Right 3

Blindspot for the right (barely covered by right-leaning outlets)

Sources by lean Follow the money More coverage

How each side framed it

Left-leaning outlets

Lula's comeback and fair play: 'more than one million Lula supporters rally' (Guardian); the Morning Star reports alarm over alleged interference by US tech firms.

Centre outlets

Centre-rated outlets headline it: “Voters in Brazil to choose between Lula and Bolsonaro's son” (BBC News); “Bolsonaro, Lula about even in polls for Brazil runoff vote” (Reuters).

Right-leaning outlets

Bolsonaro's chances and the count: 'Flavio Bolsonaro leads in most final runoff polls' (Newsmax); Fox News looks at Brazil's rapid count and voting security.

Holding the paradox

Agreed facts

Brazil holds its presidential runoff on Sunday between President Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro, son of the jailed ex-president. Bolsonaro won the first round 47% to 45% and final polls show a close race.

Where claims conflict

Whether the final polls favour Bolsonaro (Newsmax) or show a tie (Guardian, Al Jazeera); Lula has asked the electoral court to disqualify Bolsonaro for 'abuse of economic power', which Bolsonaro's side rejects.

What each side is protecting

Left: an elected government and its social programmes. Right: change after years of Lula and trust in a fast electronic count.

Common ground

Both sides want a result that the losing side accepts.

The paradox

Both camps say they are defending democracy against the other.

The bridge

Shared question: what would make the loser's voters trust the count?

Sources by lean

Balanced: the same number of articles from the left, the centre and the right (up to 3 each). The bar above still counts every rated outlet we found. Bias and factual ratings come from Media Bias/Fact Check. How we balance · All ratings.

Showing 3 from each side of 27 rated outlets (L 14 / C 8 / R 5). More coverage

Follow the money

Not yet researched. We haven't yet looked at who gains or loses financially from this story, or who funds the main voices on each side. When we do, we check company filings, the Electoral Commission donations register, lobbying registers, annual reports, InfluenceMap and OpenSecrets, and we apply the same checks to every side. How we follow the money.

Who owns or funds the outlets covering this story (28 outlets)

Outlet	Lean	Ownership & funding (MBFC)
HuffPost	Left	HuffPost is owned by BuzzFeed, Inc., a publicly traded digital media company based in New York. In November 2020, BuzzFeed acquired HuffPost from Verizon Media Group, with Verizon becoming a minority shareholder. In February 2021, BuzzFeed founder and CEO Jonah Peretti took charge of the combined properties. source
Mondoweiss	Left	The website is a part of The Center for Economic Research and Social Change, a 501(c)(3) organization. It has been described as a socialist advocacy organization by Influence Watch, a right-leaning group. Mondoweiss has also received funding from sources such as Ron Unz, who has been labeled antisemitic by the ADL and frequently publishes misinformation. source
Morning Star	Left	The Morning Star is owned by the People’s Press Printing Society, a cooperative that readers can join. Revenue is derived through subscription fees, advertising, print sales, and donations. source
Al Jazeera	Centre-left	Al Jazeera is owned and funded by the state of Qatar. The founder and Chairman of the Board is Sheikh Hamad bin Thamer Al Thani, a member of Qatar’s ruling family, the House of Thani. According to a Fortune article, i n 2016, state-funded broadcaster Al Jazeera laid off 500 workers due to Qatar’s financial troubles resulting from low global prices for oil and natural gas. source
Associated Press	Centre-left	The Associated Press (AP) is a nonprofit news cooperative with a profit of $1.6 million in 2016. It also sells content to other media organizations. According to an article titled “ AP reports loss on one-time accounting charges,” t he Associated Press lost $74 million in 2017, and it states the reason as “mostly due to one-time accounting charges related to the federal tax overhaul passed late last year.” source
Bloomberg	Centre-left	Michael R. Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP (The parent company of Bloomberg News). According to Investopedia, Bloomberg Terminal (remote software used to access financial information) is the most expensive among financial data providers. source
CNN	Centre-left	No ownership data found
Deutsche Welle	Centre-left	The German government funds Deutsche Welle (DW). They state, “DW is financed via funding from the state – i.e., from tax revenue. This is in contrast to the domestic public channels, which are funded via broadcasting fees.” source
Euronews	Centre-left	Euronews is owned by Alpac Capital, a Portugal-based investment fund that acquired an 88% stake in July 2022, with the remaining 12% held by government-supported broadcasters from Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Ownership also has business ties with Hungary’s Viktor Orban. source
NPR	Centre-left	According to a Columbia Journalism Review article dated 2010, a large portion of NPR’s revenue comes from dues and fees paid by Member stations and corporate sponsorships. In another article by Columbia Journalism Review, they state that as of 2017, NPR receives less than 1 percent of its total funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting(CPB). source
New York Times	Centre-left	The Ochs-Sulzberger family controls the New York Times through Class B shares. Since 1967, the company has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NYT. Class B shares are those that are held privately. source
The Guardian	Centre-left	The Guardian and its companion publication, the Sunday newspaper The Observer, are owned by Guardian Media Group plc (GMG). Scott Trust Limited was created in 1936 to ensure the editorial independence of the publications and owns Guardian Media Group plc (GMG). source
The Independent	Centre-left	The Independent is owned by Independent Print Limited, a company owned by the Lebedev family (Alexander Lebedev and his son Evgeny Lebedev). In 2017, Saudi Businessman Sultan Muhammad Abuljadayel bought a 30% stake in the Independent online newspaper. Advertising and subscription generate revenue for the paper..push({}); source
Washington Post	Centre-left	In 2013, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos bought The Washington Post for $250 million. Bezos is a frequent target of Trump, who has accused the businessman of using the Postal System as its “ Delivery Boy. ” The newspaper’s executive editor, Martin Baron, said Jeff Bezos, who founded Amazon, is not involved in its news coverage. source
BBC News	Centre	The BBC operates under a Royal Charter. Oversight is managed by the BBC Board, and regulatory authority rests with Ofcom. source
Financial Times	Centre	The Financial Times is owned by The Nikkei, a Japanese news and financial information company that publishes the leading financial paper, The Nikkei. The FT generates revenue through subscriptions, a hard paywall, and advertising..push({}); source
France 24	Centre	France 24 is owned by France Médias Monde, a state-owned French holding company that supervises and coordinates the activities of the major public media organizations broadcasting or publishing internationally from France. Besides government funding, they also generate revenue through advertising. source
Reuters	Centre	In April 2008, the British company Reuters Group was acquired by Thomson Corporation and formed Thomson Reuters. source
Semafor	Centre	The website was funded with $25 million in private capital. Advertising and sponsorships generate revenue. However, according to CNBC, Semafor will move to a paywall and subscription model within 18 months. source
Sky News	Centre	Sky News is owned by Comcast as of November 2018 and is funded through advertising. Rupert Murdoch is no longer affiliated with Sky News UK; however, Newscorp still has a share of Sky News Australia, which reports with a right-leaning bias. source
The Economist	Centre	The Economist is owned by the Economist Group, which is a British multinational media company. They are primarily owned by the Cadbury, Rothschild, Schroder, Layton, and Agnelli families. Subscriptions, advertising, and sponsored content generate revenue for the Economist. source
The Hill	Centre	In 2021, The Hill was purchased by Nexstar, which owns around 200 TV stations and media outlets nationwide. The founder, chairman, president, and CEO of Nexstar is Perry A. Sook. source
Newsweek	Centre-right	Newsweek is owned by Newsweek Publishing LLC, which is co-owned by Dev Pragad and Johnathan Davis. Newsweek is funded through a paid subscription and advertising model. source
Washington Examiner	Centre-right	The Washington Examiner is owned by Clarity Media Group, owned by Philip Anschutz, an American billionaire entrepreneur who describes himself as a “conservative Christian.” Anschutz is also the owner of the right-leaning Weekly Standard and has donated millions of dollars to right-leaning causes, including anti-LGBT groups, such as the Family Research Council, which has been labeled a hate group. source
Breitbart	Right	After the death of Andrew Breitbart in 2012, Larry Solov became CEO and president of Breitbart News. In 2017, according to Politico, Larry Solov revealed the owner of Breitbart as “himself, founder Andrew Breitbart’s widow, Susie Breitbart, and the Republican mega-donor family, the Mercers.” Further, Solov also stated that he wants “to disclose as little as possible about financial and ownership structure.” source
Fox News	Right	Rupert Murdoch is the owner and a board member of News Corp 21st Century Fox. According to Reuters, James Murdoch (son) was chief executive of 21st Century Fox and left in May 2018. L achlan (the other son of Murdoch) and Rupert Murdoch will serve as the new Fox co-chairman. source
Newsmax	Right	Newsmax is owned by publicly traded Newsmax Inc., which began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol NMAX on March 31, 2025. The company completed a $75 million public offering after previously raising approximately $225 million through a preferred-stock offering. source
i24NEWS	Not rated	No ownership data found