But more than two thirds (70%) of Portuguese citizens "claim to be concerned" about disinformation on the Internet "compared to 64% in Spain", according to the study "Patterns of disinformation consumption in Portugal and Spain", prepared by Iberifier, a project that aims to combat disinformation.

The study also confirms the "trend that disinformation gains greater prominence in specific phenomena, such as the covid-19 pandemic and the invasion of Ukraine".

Another of the conclusions, in a total of 10, is that "despite the fact that news diets have in common a high dependence on television as a source of news, the loss of prominence of the press sector and the rise of social networks, in terms of trust, the levels presented by Portugal and Spain are completely different".

Portugal, it is concluded, is among the countries that trust the news the most, with 58%, according to the 2023 Digital News Report (DNR 2023), and Spain is at 33%, and "is third in the trust table".

Furthermore, Portugal and Spain have in common the "fact that young people consider that journalism or the news is not the solution to the problems of disinformation", and "it is in the 18 to 24 age group that this proportion is lowest".

The report also concludes that it is "among the youngest, and in particular among the poorest and least educated, that negative behaviours around the news, such as active avoidance of news and loss of interest, are greatest".

The researchers highlight this aspect, considering that "it has an impact on the potential growth of polarisation in both countries".

In Portugal, "despite the fact that polarisation is historically low and there is an absence of intentional, deliberate and widespread disinformation campaigns, there are reasons for concern due to a social media scenario dominated by small, more radicalised parties that may adopt far-reaching strategies based on disinformation".

The study also concludes that "the impacts of disinformation are far from being limited to the media, news and political spheres, having profound replications in society in various dimensions".

Iberifier stresses that the report "corroborates the idea developed in previous contributions" by the Observatory that disinformation "is a multidimensional phenomenon, requiring a multidisciplinary approach to its study and understanding" and that "its mitigation is only possible through a systematic inter-institutional response, involving civil society actors, legislators, political parties, governments, regulators and security forces".

The application of this response "is only sustainable if it is based on efficient and active legal frameworks which, as evidenced by the Iberifier researchers, and with regard to Spain and Portugal, still exist as mere adaptations of the general guidelines of the EU and the EC for member countries".

The Iberian Observatory of Digital Media recommends that not only should these issues be addressed and apprehended, but they should also be debated "in the appropriate contemporary context in 2024, a year in which more than 40 countries will undergo electoral processes (including the USA, with well-known global implications), in which there are two active conflicts (Ukraine and the Middle East) and growing tension over the situation in Taiwan".

Iberifier comprises 23 research centres and Iberian universities, the Portuguese news agencies Lusa and the Spanish EFE, and 'fact checkers' such as Polígrafo and Prova dos Factos - Público, from Portugal, and Maldita.es and Efe Verifica, from Spain.

Read Also: Iberifier Recommendations: From the impact of AI on disinformation to literacy (Portuguese version)