LUÍS FORRA / LUSA
André Ventura felt bad during a rally in Tavira
A new investigation points out that 58% of the profiles that commented on the official account of the X are false and that many of these also appear attacking Pedro Nuno and Montenegro.
An investigation conducted by the Israeli company Cyabra, which uses artificial intelligence to detect false accounts, in collaboration with AEA TVI, revealed an intense Coordinated Disinformation Campaign On social networks, centered on the promotion of the party arrives and André Ventura, and the disbelief of the PS and PSD and its leaders.
The analysis, based on data collected on social network X, identified hundreds of false accounts actively involved in manipulating online political discourse in the weeks before the elections.
According to the report, the official accounts of the arrival and André Ventura recorded the highest levels of manipulation, with 58% of the profiles identified as false. These profiles amplified almost 500 praise comments to the party and its leader, promoting it as a defender of “Portuguese identity” and using nationalist language to generate support.
Phrases like “Force André Ventura!” and “We are with you!” They were common, creating a false perception of massive support, as well as accounts that spread false information about them, claiming to know “from a safe source” that Ventura “was poisoned”.
Although he was also the subject of misinformation, André Ventura benefited from a more structured and coordinated promotion campaign. In contrast, attacks on your image – as hints at having pretended your health problems – were less organized and with less range.
The manipulation campaign also extended to the accounts of the Socialist Party and its leader, Pedro Nuno Santos. In the official PS account, 49% of the profiles they commented on were falsehaving contributed to more than 400 negative, leadership, economic performance, and energy policy comments. Pedro Nuno’s personal account had 46% false profiles, with messages that portrayed him as “incompetent” or “alien of reality”.
The PSD and Luís Montenegro were also the target of misinformation campaigns. Montenegro’s account had 50% false profiles among the commentators, who produced almost 500 comments. The messages attacked their credibility, accused him of betrayal and tried to associate him with a corrupt political elite.
A relevant data of the study is the overlapping false profiles between the targets. 90 Identified False Accounts participated in both PS and PSD campaigns and publications that promoted the arrival, highlighting a coordinated strategy to influence political discourse in favor of the far right.
Cyabra has also seen a significant increase in fake account activity in recent weeks. On certain days, these accounts produced more content than real usersinfiltrating authentic discussions and shaping political narrative in a sophisticated and effective way.
