Health, wellbeing and nutrition are the areas in which Portuguese people say they most frequently encounter scientific misinformation, according to a study by OberCom and Iscte – University Institute of Lisbon, conducted as part of the IBERIFIER project.
The study, Social Perceptions of Scientific Misinformation in Portugal, is based on 2,031 interviews carried out during March 2026.
The findings indicate that scientific misinformation has become part of Portuguese people’s daily information consumption and that health is the leading topic, ahead of the environment and climate change.
Most respondents also report being frequently exposed to misinformation. Around one in eight say they have shared information they suspected to be false. Despite this, Portuguese people generally believe they are better than the average citizen at identifying misleading content. The study attributes this perception to the so-called “third-person effect”.
Respondents also identify artificial intelligence as a factor with the potential to increase the spread of misinformation.
The study further shows that most participants believe misinformation harms democracy and undermines trust in public institutions.
According to the findings, 65.5% of respondents believe the Government should restrict the circulation of false information on digital platforms, even if such measures entail some limitation of press freedom.
