Portugal president warns journalism faces record pressure

Portugal’s President António José Seguro said on Wednesday that journalism is facing unprecedented pressure from social media and artificial intelligence (AI), warning that the strain on media business models could weaken democratic scrutiny. Speaking at the closing session of the ECO Festival in Lisbon, he said free journalism is essential to the quality of democracy.

Seguro said digital platforms had fragmented audiences and undermined traditional revenue models, while handing news distribution to algorithms that reward emotion rather than accuracy. “Today journalism is not only competing with journalism. It is competing with everything”, he said, adding that AI had worsened the problem by making it possible to produce content “at industrial scale”, simulate voices, fabricate images and tailor disinformation campaigns.

He said the loss of direct audiences and direct revenues for newspapers, radio and television makes it harder to sustain quality reporting. In response, Seguro argued that media should not lower standards but “raise ambition”, calling for journalism that is “more human”, more contextualised and “slower when speed distorts”.

The president also used the speech to argue for broader cultural changes in Portugal, including stronger trust, less blame-driven politics and better organisation. He said low trust limits partnerships and scale for companies and projects, while a culture of disorganisation discourages investment and pushes talent abroad.

Originally published at Eco.pt