ERC establishes partnership with university research unit to identify disinformation actions in electoral context

The Portuguese Regulatory Authority for the Media (ERC) has signed a cooperation protocol with LabCom – Research Unit in Communication Sciences of the University of Beira Interior (UBI), with the aim of analysing and identifying disinformation content published on social media in the context of the 2025 Legislative Elections.

The monitoring work carried out by the LabCom-UBI team began on 18 April and will continue until election day, 18 May. The analysis focuses on content associated with political party candidates published on platforms such as Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.

"ERC is particularly committed, within the scope of its competences, to contributing to the fight against disinformation. The partnership we have established with LabCom-UBI for the monitoring of social networks during electoral periods reaffirms our commitment to defending citizens' right to information and freedom of the press — core values essential to safeguarding the integrity of democratic processes," highlights Helena Sousa, President of ERC.

"This protocol follows an initial collaboration with ERC during the 2024 European Elections and is expected to help improve the process of identifying disinformation content. LabCom’s goal is to contribute to a better society through its research," notes João Canavilhas, researcher at LabCom-UBI.

Among other types of disinformation, the following content will be analysed:

Fake polls or polls conducted by companies not registered with ERC;
Altered news publications intended to create a misleading perception of reality;
Posts mimicking the layout/format of legitimate media outlets for disinformation purposes;
Manipulated informational videos;
Content using false information to discredit news conveyed by established media organisations;
Fake media outlets created to disseminate disinformation.