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Lula wins Brazil's presidential runoff against Flávio Bolsonaro

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 29 outlets across the spectrum.

75 articles in total, 4 of them opinion. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

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Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been re-elected president of Brazil, the electoral authority said, defeating Senator Flávio Bolsonaro in the runoff. Outlets report that Lula, who trailed in the first round, won about 51.7 percent of the vote to 48.2 percent. Flávio Bolsonaro has called for the vote to be annulled, according to Bloomberg and TIME, and the Associated Press reports that he rejects the result. Breitbart reports that the Supreme Court extended voting time and that both sides alleged irregularities.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. Lula won Brazil’s presidential runoff, and the electoral authority declared him the winner.

    Across the spectrumReported byLeft4Center5Right2Far Right3See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    TIME, Al Jazeera English, The Guardian, Bloomberg
    Center
    Sky News, CNBC, PBS NewsHour, France 24, The Christian Science Monitor
    Right
    Washington Examiner, The Dispatch
    Far Right
    Fox News, Breitbart News, CBN News

  2. Lula won a fourth term as president.

    Reported byLeft2Center1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    TIME, The Guardian
    Center
    The Christian Science Monitor
    Far Right
    Breitbart News

  3. Lula came from behind after trailing Flávio Bolsonaro in the first round.

    Reported byLeft3Center2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    Al Jazeera English, The Guardian, Bloomberg
    Center
    France 24, The Christian Science Monitor

  4. Reports with near-complete counts give Lula about 51.7 percent of the runoff vote to 48.2 percent for Flávio Bolsonaro.

    Reported byLeft1Center2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    The Guardian
    Center
    France 24, The Christian Science Monitor

  5. Flávio Bolsonaro has called for the vote to be annulled and rejects the result, according to reports.

    Reported byLeft2Center1Right1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Left
    TIME, Bloomberg
    Center
    PBS NewsHour
    Right
    Washington Examiner
    Far Right
    CBN News

  6. Breitbart reports that the Supreme Court extended voting time and that both sides alleged irregularities.

    One outletBreitbart News· Far Right

What is contested

Where accounts differ

Points the coverage does not agree on, and who says what.

  • The runoff result should be annulled.

    Flávio Bolsonaro has called for the vote to be annulled, according to Bloomberg and TIME, and the Associated Press reports that he rejects the result; the electoral authority has declared Lula the winner.

How each side tells it

Compare views

All sides report that Lula won a fourth term in Brazil's runoff against Flávio Bolsonaro, who has not accepted the result. Left and center headlines stress the comeback and the defeat of the far right, while right-side outlets emphasize a setback for the conservative movement and allegations of irregularities.

  • the left

    10 outlets · 2 opinion

    Left-side headlines foreground Lula's comeback and the defeat of the far right, with TIME stressing Bolsonaro's refusal to concede; Bloomberg is more neutral in its wording.

    Lula wins fourth term as Brazil president after historic upset over far-right Flávio Bolsonaro
    The GuardianLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    11 outlets

    Center headlines report the runoff result plainly, with Sky citing the electoral authority, while France 24 and the Christian Science Monitor focus on the challenges ahead and the regional shift.

    Brazil's Lula wins presidential election in runoff vote
    CNBCCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    8 outlets

    Right-side headlines mostly stress the narrow result or a setback for conservatives; far-right Breitbart calls Lula Marxist and cites a voting extension, while the Washington Examiner's headline is AP's wording.

    Conservative wave hits roadblock in Brazil as Lula holds off Bolsonaro challenge
    Fox NewsFar RightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left15

    far-right opponentthree weeks of despairglobal villainsevening of chaos

  • Center8

    an icon of the global leftstaved off a conservative wavehailfeeble public finances

  • Right3

    SocialistMarxistUnprecedented

In the outlets’ own words

  • Loaded modifier

    far-right opponentMore neutral: right-wing opponent

    The label far-right adds a judgement about the candidate that the facts of the race do not require.

    …to a historic fourth term as Brazil’s President after a tight race with far-right opponent, Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of former President and Donald Trump ally Jair…

    Used byTIME (Left)

  • Sensational language

    three weeks of despairMore neutral: three weeks of uncertainty about his campaign

    The phrase attributes intense emotion to a whole group of voters without a source for it.

    …his political future into doubt and plunging progressive Brazilians into three weeks of despair.

    Used byThe Guardian (Left)

  • Loaded modifier

    an icon of the global leftMore neutral: a leftist leader

    The outlet’s own voice praises Lula with a label that is not a neutral description of his role.

    Lula, an icon of the global left and the most dominant force in this century, defeated Senator , the eldest…

    Used byFrance 24 (Center)

  • Loaded modifier

    global villainsMore neutral: critics of the result

    Calls the named governments and people villains, a judgement the facts reported do not establish.

    It’s also an important defeat for global villains: the Trump administration, the international far-right movement, and Mark…

    Used byThe New Republic (Far Left)

Show 22 more phrasesShow fewer

  • Sensational language

    evening of chaosMore neutral: an evening of disrupted voting

    Chaos is a judgement on the voting, while the report describes a last-minute extension and problems at polling places that a neutral term can state.

    The announcement capped an evening of chaos at polling places across Brazil, following a last-minute decision to extend…

    Used byABC News (Left)

  • Loaded modifier

    disgracedMore neutral: former or who resigned after

    Verdict as adjective; say what happened.

    …into a Brazilian right-wing clan, the Marinho family, who are close allies of the disgraced former President Jair Bolsonaro.

    Used byMother Jones (Far Left)

  • Loaded verb

    Blocks Trump’s PushMore neutral: Lula wins Brazil election over Bolsonaro

    Presents the result as thwarting a Trump policy, a framing the reported facts do not establish.

    Lula’s Suprise Win Blocks Trump’s Push for a Far-Right Brazil

    Used byMother Jones (Far Left)

  • Loaded modifier

    SocialistMore neutral: leftist

    Ideological label attached to the president pre-judges him beyond the facts of the result.

    Socialist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, 80, was elected president of Brazil for a…

    Used byBreitbart News (Far Right)

  • Loaded modifier

    MarxistMore neutral: leftist

    Labeling a politician with an ideology in the headline pre-judges him beyond the facts of the election.

    Marxist Lula Beats Bolsonaro in Brazil Presidential Election After Unprecedented Voting Time…

    Used byBreitbart News (Far Right)

  • Sensational language

    UnprecedentedMore neutral: last-minute

    The word adds drama to a voting-time extension without evidence that it was unprecedented in a way the reader needs.

    Marxist Lula Beats Bolsonaro in Brazil Presidential Election After Unprecedented Voting Time Extension

    Used byBreitbart News (Far Right)

  • Sensational language

    chaotic voteMore neutral: close vote

    Calls the vote chaotic, a judgement the reported facts do not establish.

    …runoff after losing the election to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in a chaotic vote marred by allegations of suppression and a last-minute extension of voting hours.

    Used byBloomberg (Left)

  • Sensational language

    humiliatingMore neutral: significant

    The adjective asserts a judgement about the result rather than describing it.

    President Donald Trump has won Brazil’s presidential election in a humiliating result for MAGA.

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

  • Loaded verb

    PlungesMore neutral: loses

    The verb dramatizes the result, while the election outcome itself is a loss described neutrally elsewhere.

    Trump Ally Plunges to Stunning Loss in Humiliation for MAGA

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

  • Sensational language

    HumiliationMore neutral: defeat

    The noun asserts an emotional judgement about the result rather than describing it.

    Trump Ally Plunges to Stunning Loss in Humiliation for MAGA

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

  • Loaded verb

    narrowly triumphedMore neutral: narrowly won

    Triumphed adds a tone of victory beyond the plain fact of winning.

    President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva narrowly triumphed over Flávio Bolsonaro, the eldest son of the right-wing leader he defeated four…

    Used byThe New York Times (Left)

  • Sensational language

    sensational turnaroundMore neutral: comeback

    Calls the reversal sensational, adding drama beyond the reported result.

    And just hours ago, Brazil’s president staged a sensational turnaround against his far-right opponent after a nail-biting vote.

    Used byThe Guardian (Left)

  • Loaded modifier

    radical populist movementMore neutral: populist movement

    Labels the movement radical, a judgement rather than a description of its policies.

    …seeing off far-right senator Flávio Bolsonaro, who spearheaded the radical populist movement built by his father and former president, Jair.

    Used byThe Guardian (Left)

  • Loaded verb

    staved off a conservative waveMore neutral: won against a right-wing challenger

    The phrase presents the result as defeating a movement, which is a judgement about the election rather than a report of its outcome.

    The region's left-leaning leaders were quick to react as Brazil staved off a conservative wave in many countries while Europeans, such as Spanish Prime Minister Pedro…

    Used byFrance 24 (Center)

  • Loaded verb

    hailMore neutral: congratulate

    The verb hail adds praise where the act reported is congratulation.

    ‘Congratulations!’: World leaders hail Lula’s election victory in Brazil

    Used byFrance 24 (Center)

  • Loaded modifier

    feeble public financesMore neutral: weak public finances

    Describes the state of public finances with a judgemental adjective rather than a measured one.

    He will have to wrestle with a divided Brazil, an unfriendly Congress, feeble public finances and a Donald Trump-shaped menace during his unprecedented fourth term.

    Used byFrance 24 (Center)

  • Sensational language

    Donald Trump-shaped menaceMore neutral: Donald Trump’s pressure on Brazil

    Presents a foreign leader’s pressure as a menace without evidence in the excerpt.

    …with a divided Brazil, an unfriendly Congress, feeble public finances and a Donald Trump-shaped menace during his unprecedented fourth term.

    Used byFrance 24 (Center)

  • Sensational language

    stunning political comebackMore neutral: political comeback

    The word “stunning” describes the reaction rather than the fact, which is a fourth-term win.

    And, Brazil's Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won a fourth term in a stunning political comeback.

    Used byNPR (Left)

  • Vague attribution

    raises questionsMore neutral: state the question and who is asking

    The writer is raising the question while pretending someone else did.

    As the US midterms approach, the result raises questions about Trump’s influence and how his political allies respond when voters reject…

    Used byFrance 24 (Center)

  • Loaded modifier

    champion of the Latin American leftMore neutral: leftist leader in Latin America

    “Champion” is a word of praise that describes Lula’s standing without a neutral basis in the report.

    …President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a critic of President Trump and a champion of the Latin American left, won an unprecedented fourth term on Sunday in a runoff election…

    Used byThe Hill (Center)

  • Sensational language

    stunningMore neutral: election victory

    The adjective adds drama to a result that can be described by its facts alone.

    Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has achieved a stunning election victory, defeating far-right rival Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, despite…

    Used byAl Jazeera English (Left)

  • Loaded verb

    lurch to the rightMore neutral: shift to the right

    The word lurch suggests a sudden, unstable movement and adds a judgement to the regional political shift.

    …to an unprecedented fourth term shows shows the limits of Latin America’s lurch to the right.

    Used byThe Christian Science Monitor (Center)

Words quoted from someone else (2)Hide the quoted words

Loaded words that outlets reported someone else saying. They show what was said, not how the outlet chose to say it.

  • Hateful rhetoric

    Quoted

    jihadistMore neutral: Trump criticizes El-Sayed

    A terrorist label applied to a Muslim candidate through his faith, reported as Trump’s words without supporting evidence in the coverage.

    Attacks or dehumanizes a person or a group because of who they are: their race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation or disability.

    Plus, President Donald Trump called Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed a “jihadist” and alleged Muslim Brotherhood ties, prompting a sharp response from the Democrat.

    Quoted byStraight Arrow News (Center)

    These are Donald Trump’s words. The outlets are reporting them.

  • Partisan shorthand

    Quoted

    progressive comebackMore neutral: comeback in the runoff

    The phrase is a label coined by the speaker that contains its own conclusion about the result.

    …while Europeans, such as Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, celebrated a "progressive comeback".

    Quoted byFrance 24 (Center)

    These are Pedro Sanchez’s words. The outlets are reporting them.

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

10 outlets · 2 opinion

Leads with

  • comeback after first-round defeat
  • defeat of the far right
  • Bolsonaro's refusal to concede
  • historic fourth term
See the 12 headlines from the leftHide the headlines

From the center

11 outlets

Leads with

  • narrow runoff result
  • divisions and challenges ahead
  • Latin America's rightward trend
See the 11 headlines from the centerHide the headlines

From the right

8 outlets

Leads with

  • setback for conservatives
  • narrow margin
  • voting time extension and irregularities
  • Lula's ideology
See the 8 headlines from the rightHide the headlines

Articles you open from here build My Mix, a private picture of how your reading spreads across the spectrum, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    1 hr 37 min later

    Its first report, Oct 25, 7:50 PM EDT

  • Center

    First to report

    Sky News, Oct 25, 6:13 PM EDT

  • Right

    2 hr 15 min later

    Its first report, Oct 25, 8:27 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. Sky NewsCenterOct 25, 6:13 PM EDT
  2. BloombergLeftOct 25, 7:50 PM EDT
  3. Al Jazeera EnglishLeftOct 25, 8:16 PM EDT
  4. The GuardianLeftOct 25, 8:19 PM EDT
  5. France 24CenterOct 25, 8:23 PM EDT
  6. Fox NewsFar RightOct 25, 8:27 PM EDT
  7. CNBCCenterOct 25, 8:28 PM EDT
  8. NPRLeftOct 25, 8:35 PM EDT
  9. ABC NewsLeftOct 25, 8:39 PM EDT
  10. Mother JonesFar LeftOct 25, 8:39 PM EDT
  11. Breitbart NewsFar RightOct 25, 8:40 PM EDT
  12. BBC NewsCenterOct 25, 8:45 PM EDT
  13. New York PostRightOct 25, 8:51 PM EDT
  14. Financial TimesCenterOct 25, 8:56 PM EDT
  15. Deutsche WelleCenterOct 25, 9:21 PM EDT
  16. The New York TimesLeftOct 25, 10:21 PM EDT
  17. Washington ExaminerRightOct 26, 12:24 AM EDT
  18. CBN NewsFar RightOct 26, 12:39 AM EDT
  19. NBC NewsLeftOct 26, 5:35 AM EDT
  20. The DispatchRightOct 26, 6:26 AM EDT
  21. The Epoch TimesFar RightOct 26, 6:32 AM EDT
  22. Straight Arrow NewsCenterOct 26, 6:57 AM EDT
  23. SemaforCenterOct 26, 7:10 AM EDT
  24. The HillCenterOct 26, 8:03 AM EDT
  25. The American ConservativeRightOct 26, 8:52 AM EDT
  26. PBS NewsHourCenterOct 26, 9:19 AM EDT
  27. CBS NewsLeftOct 26, 10:36 AM EDT
  28. The Christian Science MonitorCenterOct 26, 12:04 PM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out. TIME gave only a date, so it is not placed.

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