The WhatsApp ‘general’ behind Lula’s election comeback in Brazil
Summary
Brazilian congressman Andre Janones helped Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s campaign build a large WhatsApp following during the 2026 presidential runoff. His channel, Lula’s Army, grew from about 60,000 followers after the first round to nearly 11 million by election day, using frequent messages and simple tasks to encourage supporters to share campaign material and recruit others.Key Facts
- Janones is a 42-year-old congressman from Minas Gerais who previously helped coordinate Lula’s digital campaign in 2022.
- Lula thanked Janones at his victory celebration and called him “our general.”
- Janones launched the WhatsApp channel Lula’s Army months before the runoff.
- The channel had about 60,000 followers after the first round and nearly 11 million by election day.
- Janones urged supporters to recruit friends, share campaign videos and promote hashtags.
- The channel sent messages that followers could forward or react to, but not reply to.
- Researchers described the approach as “electoral gamification,” using shared targets to involve supporters.
- The article says Lula had finished behind Flavio Bolsonaro in the first round before winning the runoff.
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