At the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences at the University of Lisbon, journalist Mafalda Anjos argued that in the recent legislative elections, “disinformation earned many votes” as it has historically been a powerful tool of propaganda, now aided by more means to facilitate its spread.
“Why does disinformation spread so quickly on social networks? ‘Fake news’ are more likely to be disseminated because it’s much easier for a lie to circulate than the truth. The energy required to refute a narrative is much greater than that needed to produce it,” she stated.
Moreover, “the media are outraged by lies yet end up amplifying the message,” said Mafalda Anjos, noting that television’s time pressures often prevent the identification and decoding of such messages.
“The media cannot simply be ‘microphone stands’, a common failing globally,” she asserted.
Journalist and president of the Association for Media Literacy and Journalism, Sofia Branco, reiterated that disinformation gained many votes in the last election, while “journalism lost an equal amount.”
“Journalistic coverage has significantly deteriorated since the last elections,” said Sofia Branco, pointing out that the big issue lies with private televisions, which impact coverage that neither aids clarification nor journalism.
For the former head of the Journalists Union, the driving force is audience pressure translating into money, pointing out that “private televisions are operating very irresponsibly.”
“Journalism is not separate; it reflects the society it’s in, and Portugal has an issue with the demand for quality journalism. The more demanding the public, the better the journalism,” said the journalist.
International affairs expert and commentator Germano Almeida highlighted that Chega’s rise partially resulted from social media’s influence as they lost the capacity to reach their audiences effectively.
The expert noted that disinformation strategy includes the discrediting of mediators, a view shared by Mafalda Anjos, who contended that the “far-right aims to destroy the media’s image, eliminate ‘gatekeepers’… the strategy is to declare that all media lie.”
In terms of solutions, Sofia Branco emphasized the role of media literacy, as the sharing of disinformation might be linked to a lack of skills to decode these narratives, while Mafalda Anjos stressed the development of critical thinking and digital literacy.
