The data collection took place from April 28 to May 4, according to a report by ISCTE’s Medialab for the National Election Commission (CNE). It highlights Chega as the political party with the highest reach on social media.
“The posts between April 28 and May 4 that achieved the most reach in reference to the blackout belong to André Ventura, with the first reaching over 371,000 views […] and the other two gathering 354,000 and 219,000 views, respectively,” states the document.
In total, three posts from Ventura’s account on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok garnered 943,709 views, as per the MediaLab report, which utilized tools like the Meta Content Library and SentiOne.
In these posts, Chega’s leader criticizes the imposition of fines and tolls, describing it as “an example of exploiting the issue” for electoral campaign purposes, as noted by Medialab.
The report mentions that on Facebook, candidates directly addressed the theme 21 times, while political parties did so 28 times.
Facebook and X were the most utilized platforms (with 16 and 17 posts, respectively), yet Instagram provided the most visibility.
The study considered all social media posts by candidates or parties using the term “blackout” during the week of April 28 to May 4.
André Ventura and Sousa Real were the first politicians to comment on the “blackout” on social media, doing so on Facebook between 12:57 PM and 1:58 PM, followed by the Bloco de Esquerda’s Instagram account.
Inês Sousa Real’s Facebook post received 3,600 views, and Bloco’s Instagram post garnered 60,300 views.
The MediaLab/CNE report titled “Disinformation about the blackout on social media and impact on the campaign” examines the period between April 28 and May 4. It was compiled by researchers Gustavo Cardoso, José Moreno, Inês Narciso, and Paulo Couraceiro.
The National Election Commission (CNE) and ISCTE’s MediaLab, in collaboration with the Lusa agency, are monitoring social media to identify and measure disinformation’s impact on the May legislative campaign, which continues through May 24.
The Medialab produces weekly reports on the phenomenon of disinformation.
On April 28, an electrical supply cut from Spain caused a “blackout” of about 10 hours in Portugal.
