According to researcher Miguel Paisana, from the Portuguese laboratory Obercom, who presented the study at a seminar on disinformation held in Granada, Spain, Portugal is today a country “where there are many hemicycles”.

The fact is particularly relevant in the political field, associated with social networks, said Paisana, releasing figures collected on September 7.

According to this data, PAN, a party with one deputy, has 165,000 followers on Facebook, while the PS, with 120 deputies, has 102,000 followers. Chega, with 12 members in parliament, has 148,000 followers and CDS, without any, has 42,000.

For specialists, it remains an enigma that Portugal, being the second country in Europe that most trusts news - 86% consult news every or almost every day - also has a high number of people - 30% - who say they come across misinformation every day.

Power of TV

According to the same study, Portugal is a society closely linked to television, with more than 50% of people making it their main source of news.

Social networks are the main source of information for 20% of Portuguese people.

Interest in the news is, however, waning. Today, only 51% of people express this interest (17.5 percentage points less than in 2021), with disinterest among the least educated and the poorest being more prevalent.