The Government on Monday, 13th April, rejected accusations of surveillance of journalists or citizens and insisted that the reported hiring of an Irish company to provide access to an Artificial Intelligence platform monitoring social media publications is intended solely to “strengthen the analysis of public information and support political decision-making”.
The response was issued in a statement sent to newsrooms by the Government’s General Secretariat (SGC), following mounting controversy sparked by reports of the acquisition of the Newswhip platform, which has already drawn criticism from opposition parties and the country’s Journalists’ Union.
According to the Secretariat-General, which falls under the supervision of cabinet minister António Leitão Amaro, responsible for media affairs, “a tool for research in open sources and public content, a modern form of media clipping, has been contracted”, stressing that it “fully complies with all legal requirements, including the General Data Protection Regulation”. The body “categorically rejects accusations that the tool was acquired to catalogue or monitor journalists or to conduct general surveillance”.
The Government further framed the purchase within the remit of the Secretariat-General, recalling that its mission includes “supporting political decision-making and monitoring government action”, tasks that involve “researching and verifying statistical data and analysing the societal impact of the various measures adopted”. The statement added that the platform is used exclusively by the Secretariat-General, now headed by António Vicente, appointed last week to succeed Carlos Costa Neves, and that “government offices themselves do not have access to it”.
The Secretariat-General also noted that the Irish-based supplier provides services to international institutions including the governments of France and the United Kingdom, the United Nations, the European Commission and the World Health Organization, as well as media organisations such as the BBC, The Washington Post, The New York Times and Público, alongside Portuguese higher education institutions.
The contract, worth around €40,000 and lasting one year, provides access to a platform capable of “simultaneous monitoring of multiple social media platforms and online news outlets”, according to reporting by the newspaper Correio da Manhã. Technical specifications indicate that the system uses “predictive models and performance metrics” to analyse patterns of virality, interaction growth and the potential reach of online content.
Among the listed features is the “automatic detection of relevant content with configurable alerts” and the provision of “predictive indicators assessing the likelihood of content gaining traction or becoming viral”, enabling the Government to “anticipate developments and adjust its informational response”.
The same platform also allows the creation of lists ranking journalists according to media impact, based on criteria such as number of publications and audience reach, a capability that has fuelled criticism of surveillance and concerns over possible interference in journalistic activity.
The Journalists’ Union described the situation as “unacceptable” and has already requested explanations from the Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro. Speaking to TSF Radio, union president Luís Simões said the platform “will analyse what journalists post on social media and the impact of each story”, describing it as “certainly dangerous”.
The union leader questioned the purpose of the tool and warned of the risks associated with journalist rankings: “What will these rankings achieve? Could some journalists be favoured or disadvantaged in their access to information? All of this could be very dangerous.” He added: “Any ranking of journalists is unacceptable,” arguing that “using journalists’ social media reach as a criterion is completely unacceptable”.
Opposition parties, including the Socialist Party (PS), Chega and the Left Bloc, have also demanded clarification regarding the service contracted by the Government.
Source: LUSA
