Election misinformation linked to Portugal’s presidential race has attracted more than 7.7 million views on social media since November, according to a new academic study. The research found that a large share of misleading content was associated with André Ventura, raising concerns about its impact on the country’s digital public space during the campaign period.
The study was conducted by LabCom – Communication Laboratory under the ODEPOL – Political Disinformation Observatory. Monitoring began on 17 November 2025, the day of the first televised debate between André Ventura and António José Seguro, and focused on disinformation linked to pre-candidates and candidates across major platforms including Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, Threads and YouTube.
According to researchers João Canavilhas and Branco Di Fátima, misleading content generated a total of 7,712,000 views, alongside 324,555 reactions, 51,922 comments and 24,543 shares. They noted that these figures demonstrate strong engagement with disinformation and a significant influence on online political discourse.
Over a four-week period covering pre-campaigning and the official campaign, researchers identified 14 distinct cases of election misinformation. Content linked to André Ventura, who is supported by the Chega party, accounted for 85.7 percent of all identified cases. The remaining cases involved pre-candidates who were later rejected by the Constitutional Court, including Joana Amaral Dias.
Video emerged as the dominant format for spreading misleading narratives, featuring in 71.4 percent of cases, while photographs accounted for the remaining 28.6 percent. In terms of content type, disinformation most commonly focused on discrediting journalists and media outlets at 42.9 percent. Manipulated content followed at 28.6 percent, falsified information at 21.4 percent, and false contextual framing at 7.1 percent.
Platform analysis showed that X was involved in 92.9 percent of cases, making it the primary channel for disinformation circulation. TikTok accounted for 21 percent, while Threads featured in 28.6 percent of identified cases, highlighting the multi-platform nature of political misinformation.
One of the most impactful examples involved a video shared by André Ventura on 1 January, which surpassed one million views, particularly on Instagram. The video originated from the Spanish newspaper OK Diário and showed a fire at the Vondelkerk Church in Amsterdam on New Year’s Eve. While the original post made no reference to religion, Ventura added the caption “Islamisation of Europe,” according to the researchers.
LabCom concluded that this framing created a direct and misleading association between the incident and the Muslim community. The post recorded more than 1,028,000 views, over 40,000 reactions, thousands of comments and shares, and an estimated reach of more than 436,000 unique users.
Researchers said the case illustrates how ideological framing can dramatically amplify the spread of misinformation and reshape public interpretation of events. They stressed that such dynamics reinforce the need for continuous monitoring throughout the electoral process to protect democratic debate.