In the first runoff election, Jair Bolsonaro received 4 million more votes than Lula da Silva.
Posted by The Benny Show, Checked
- Sources
- 6 contradict3 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 90%
The Benny ShowOct 26, 2026
The claim is contradicted: in the October 25, 2026 runoff, Lula beat Flávio Bolsonaro by about 4.4 million votes (64.3M to 59.8M, per Reuters and the electoral court), so Bolsonaro did not receive 4 million more votes than Lula.
What was said
… People of Brazil voted against him in the first runoff election. So the way it worked in the first runoff election is Bolsonaro got 4 million more votes than Lula, but there were also a bunch of candidates running. They accounted for 10 million votes. So where are those 10 million votes gonna go? Well, all of those candidates were right wing. …
The Benny Show · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. Reuters' live results show Lula with 64,256,232 votes and Flávio Bolsonaro with 59,826,041 votes in the runoff, a gap of about 4.4 million in Lula's favor.[1]
Contradicts. AP, as carried by PBS and the Washington Post, reports Brazil's electoral court announced Lula led by nearly 4.4 million votes at 100% counted.[3][4][6][7]
Contradicts. The BBC reports Lula won 51.79% to Bolsonaro's 48.21%, and electoral experts said a margin of 4.4 million votes made annulment remote.[5]
Context. The 4 million figure matches Flávio Bolsonaro's gain of roughly 4 million votes from the first round to the runoff, not his margin over Lula in the runoff.[8]
Context. In the first round on October 4, Flávio Bolsonaro led Lula 47% to 45%, a gap of about 2.2 million votes, so Bolsonaro led in that round, not the runoff.[3][6][9]
Context. The claim names Jair Bolsonaro, but the 2026 candidate is Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of the imprisoned former president; the post's "Bolsonaro" does not identify Jair.[2][7][9]
Sources
9 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 2 tier 2, 1 tier 1, 4 not rated
- 1Brazil runoff election resultsreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: contradicts
- 2Lula declared winner of Brazil's election, Bolsonaro rejects ...apnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 3Lula beats Bolsonaro in Brazil runoff, securing fourth ...pbs.org · tier 2 · cited for: contradicts, context
- 4Brazil votes in a tense Lula vs Bolsonaro runoff as ...washingtonpost.com · tier 2 · cited for: contradicts
- 5Brazil election live: Lula defeats Bolsonaro - follow latestbbc.com · tier 1 · cited for: contradicts
- 6Trump critic Lula wins reelection in Brazil, securing fourth ...inquirer.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts, context
- 7Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva wins reelection over Flávio ...wlrn.org · not rated · cited for: contradicts, context
- 8The digital army that catapulted Lula to victory in Brazil - The Boston Globebostonglobe.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 9Donald Trump's "Donroe Doctrine" faces setback as Lula wins in Brazilnewsweek.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- Lula da Silva won the election by 4.4 million votes.True
- Lula won the Brazilian election by over 4 million votes.True
- Flavio Bolsonaro came in first in the Brazilian presidential election and will face incumbent President Lula in a runoff.True
- Lula da Silva won the 2022 election with 50.9% of the vote against Jair Bolsonaro's 49.1%.True
- Lula won the Brazilian election by a margin of 3 million votes.Mixed