UPDATE 1 — Meta employees said Lula's accounts were hindered during Brazil election, Folha reports

(Adds context, details in the bullets) SAO PAULO, Oct 16 (Reuters) — Employees at Meta acknowledged in internal communications that the Instagram accounts of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva were negatively affected by restrictions during the country's election, newspaper Folha de S.Paulo reported on Friday, citing messages it reviewed. The messages also acknowledged the platform recommended the profile of challenger Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, as well as his WhatsApp channel, according to the report. Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment Lula will face Bolsonaro in a runoff on October 25, following a stronger-than-expected performance by the senator in the first-round vote earlier this month Lula's camp said earlier this week it would file a complaint before the Organization of American States alleging that Meta, which owns Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook, manipulated social media during Brazil's election According to Lula's party, some of his posts appeared without a share button, suffered reduced reach, and had stories that prevented reactions and sharing, in addition to appearing without audio or playing at accelerated speed A justice at Brazil's