Disinformation in the context of elections saw a concerning 160% increase between the 2024 European elections and the 2025 legislative elections, according to the study “Disinformation in the 2025 Legislative Elections: Party Activity on Social Media”, conducted by the Regulatory Authority for the Media (ERC) in partnership with the University of Beira Interior (UBI).
The report reveals a significant rise in disinformation incidents in Portugal during the electoral period, with 4,514 social media posts analyzed between April 7 and May 19, 2025.
Lamares, Capela & Associados (LACA)’s Role in Combating Disinformation
Since its founding, LACA has embraced its responsibility to inform the public as accurately as possible through its website and social media channels.
The news shared on our blog reflects the latest legal developments, ensuring that the information provided is factually correct.
As a result of this commitment, LACA is regularly consulted by fact-checking platforms, such as Polígrafo, to clarify the truthfulness of certain news stories — as seen here, here, and here.
Political Party Involvement
Among the posts analyzed in the study, 16 cases of disinformation were directly linked to political party pages, leading to nine investigations launched by the ERC.
The CHEGA party stood out as the main disseminator of disinformation, responsible for 81.3% of the identified cases. PS, PSD, and CDS each recorded one occurrence, accounting for the remaining 18.7%.
Main Platforms for Disinformation Dissemination
- Instagram (30.0%) and Facebook (28.9%) hosted the majority of the analyzed content.
- Followed by X/Twitter (22.8%), TikTok (9.8%), and YouTube (8.5%).
Formats and Types of Disinformation
- Videos were the most used format (56.3%), including edited clips, montages, and manipulated footage.
- Static images accounted for 43.8%, often used to share altered poll results or surveys.
Main types of disinformation detected
- Fake polls or those published by unregistered entities – 31.1%
- Texts from alleged media outlets not registered with the ERC – 25.0%
- Manipulated videos and posts attacking or discrediting the media – 18.8% each
- Altered news stories to create misleading perceptions – 6.3%
Severity of Disinformation Content
- 43.8% had low disinformation potential, being amateur content easily verifiable online.
- 37.5% had medium potential, involving fact distortion or data manipulation.
- 18.8% were classified as high disinformation potential, containing entirely false elements, many generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Reach and Impact
The 16 identified posts generated:
- 197,471 interactions
- 20,633 comments
- 12,368 shares
Additionally, nine videos surpassed 3.5 million views, mainly on Instagram and TikTok. The study estimates that over six million users were exposed to disinformation content.
This study, conducted under a protocol between ERC and LabCom – UBI’s Communication Sciences Research Unit, highlights the growing impact of disinformation in electoral contexts and the amplifying role of social media.
The scale of the audience reached and the involvement of political parties in spreading manipulative content underscore the urgent need for effective measures to promote media literacy, strengthen digital regulation, and safeguard the integrity of democratic debate in Portugal.