The LabCom study, within the scope of ODEPOL – Political Disinformation Observatory, monitors disinformation related to the digital presence of pre-candidates and candidates on the most popular social media platforms in Portugal (Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, Threads and YouTube) and began on 17 November 2025, the day of the first televised debate between André Ventura and António José Seguro.

According to researchers João Canavilhas and Branco Di Fátima, the disinformation content reached a total of 7,712,000 views on social media (every time the content appears to users, including repetitions), and generated 324,555 reactions, 51,922 comments and 24,543 shares.

According to João Canavilhas, coordinator of LabCom, and Branco Di Fátima, journalist and researcher at LabCom, these figures “show a high level of user engagement with disinformation content” and a “significant impact on the digital public space”.

In four weeks of pre-campaigning and during the election campaign, researchers identified 14 cases of disinformation, with André Ventura, the candidate supported by Chega, responsible for 85.7% of the cases identified, while the rest were from pre-candidates who were not accepted by the Constitutional Court (TC), such as Joana Amaral Dias.

Video has been the preferred format for disinformation, used in 71.4% of cases, compared to photographs, which accounted for 28.6%.

By type of disinformation, it is divided into discrediting the media and journalists (42.9%), manipulated content (28.6%), falsification of information (21.4%), and use of false context (7.1%).

Platform X accounted for 92.9% of cases, TikTok 21%, and Threads 28.6%.

One of the cases with the greatest impact was a video shared by presidential candidate André Ventura on 1 January, according to the LabCom report, which was viewed more than a million times, particularly on Instagram.

The Chega leader’s account shared a video from the social media of the Spanish newspaper OK Diário, showing a fire at the Vondelkerk Church in Amsterdam on New Year’s Eve, with the caption “Islamisation of Europe”.

“The original video claims that the fire started after 'several immigrants threw fireworks' at the building (which stopped hosting religious ceremonies in 1977 and functioned as a cultural centre)”, but Ventura adds the expression “Islamisation of Europe” to the publication, according to the researchers’ report.

What Ventura did, they added, was to establish “a direct link between the incident and the Muslim community”.

The result was impressive: 1,028,534 views, 40,250 comments, 6,197 comments, 3,487 shares and a reach of 436,167 (estimated number of unique users who viewed the content at least once).

The researchers emphasised that this case “exemplifies how the introduction of an ideological frame can amplify informative narratives” and accelerate their dissemination in the public sphere.

This reinforces “the need for continuous monitoring throughout the electoral process”.

The OK Diário newspaper made no connection to the Muslim community or any other community and was subsequently edited after being criticised by readers.