National Electoral Commission warns that paid online advertising is prohibited in election campaigns

The National Electoral Commission (CNE) warns that “online”, anonymous and paid advertising on digital platforms such as Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) is prohibited during the election campaign.

In a conversation with Lusa, the representative of the National Electoral Commission (CNE), Fernando Anastasio, said that this ban stems from Law 72/2015, which regulates electoral propaganda through commercial advertising media.

“It cannot be anonymous” and “sponsored advertising is currently prohibited,” Fernando Anastasio said.

CNE is currently investigating possible foreign interference in the legislative election campaign following complaints about YouTube advertising against PS and PSD.

Fernando Anastasio said CNE requested information from YouTube in an attempt to find out who was responsible for advertising banned during election campaigns.

Researchers from the ISCTE Media Lab discovered for the first time “signs of external interference in Portuguese elections” through “online advertising” that accused the IPS of corruption and recalled PSD cuts during the Troika era.

This evidence was collected by the MediaLab team at the Instituto Superior de Ciências do Trabalho ea Empresa (ISCTE-IUL) in a study of social media elections and disinformation processes in the pre-election phase of the March 10 legislative elections, in partnership with the Lusa agency.