Decision only involves sponsored content on social media; Lula started a national campaign in May to reduce working hours
The (Court of Justice of the Federal District and Territories) determined on Tuesday (June 16, 2026) that the government of the president (PT) suspend, within 48 hours, paid advertisements on social networks that defend the end of the 6 x 1 scale. The decision was taken after a popular action presented by the deputy (PL-RJ), which questions the use of public resources to promote the proposal.
Judge Pollyanna Kelly Maciel Medeiros Martins Alves understood that there is evidence that the government used public money to promote an agenda under discussion in Congress.
According to the decision, part of the investments were made while the proposal was analyzed in the Chamber of Deputies, which would go beyond the merely informative nature of institutional communication. Read (PDF – 56 kB).
“The most relevant element for the judgment of plausibility is the temporal data: according to the survey presented in the initial, R$ 881 thousand were invested between April 15 and 18, 2026, a period that coincided with the vote on the matter in the Constitution and Justice Committee of the Chamber of Deputies. This concomitance weakens the thesis of merely informative character and highlights, in summary cognition, apparent incompatibility with the constitutional purpose in the legislative process, with potentially irregular use of resources public”says the decision.
The Lula government began, in May, when the proposal was still being processed in the Chamber, a . The pieces began to be broadcast in digital media, television, radio, newspapers, cinema and in the international press.
In 2026, they were to expand the reach of publications on social networks in defense of the end of the 6 x 1 scale. The survey was carried out by Poder360 based on data from , a platform that brings together ads served on Facebook and Instagram.
Of the total, R$881 thousand were disbursed from April 15th to 18th. Lula intensified his efforts after presenting, on April 14, a proposal on the topic to the National Congress. The increase in investments also coincided with the week preceding the vote, at the CCJ (Constitution and Justice Commission), on proposals related to the topic.
The decision only applies to sponsored content. The government continues to be authorized to publish content about reducing working hours on its official channels, as long as it is not paid for. President Lula’s statements on the topic on radio and television are also not affected by the decision.
The government must present documents relating to campaign spending on social media. Lula, the Minister of the Secretariat of Social Communication, Sidônio Palmeira, and the Union itself will be summoned to present a defense in the process.
O Poder360 He contacted the Department of Social Communication to ask if he would like to comment on the decision. There was no response until the publication of this report. The text will be updated if the organization sends a statement to this digital newspaper.
