The Folha Nacional: the use of the party press in the dissemination of the party message by Chega in Portugal

In recent decades, there has been significant growth and change in the methods and platforms used by political forces to communicate with their activists and voters. The era of digitalization and public discussion on social networks has gained relevance due to citizens’ new habits of consumption and presence in the virtual world, as well as the technological advances that have taken place, particularly through Artificial Intelligence. However, this does not indicate that parties have abandoned the use of models such as the party press, which had its heyday in the first half of the 20th century, as powerful vehicles for propaganda and the transmission of political messages. Several political forces continue to utilize the party press, which is currently more focused on direct communication with their militants. In recent years, Chega has emerged as one of the most significant parties in Portuguese politics. During the last legislative elections in 2025, it secured 60 seats, a significant increase from the 8 seats it held in 2022 and its initial entry into parliament in 2019 with only one elected representative. Currently, Chega holds the largest presence on social media among all Portuguese political parties. In June 2022, the party launched its newspaper, Folha Nacional , as an additional platform to complement its online presence. The publication has been consistently released since its debut. The aim of this research is to analyze the content published on the newspaper’s front page and how the topics are approached, contributing to the dissemination of Chega’s political message and the respective influence of these stories on militants. The analysis focuses on the year 2024, marked by the early parliamentary elections in March, the European elections in May, the regional elections in Madeira, and the intense debate on the State Budget in Portugal, with an unstable parliamentary configuration. The approach utilizes content analysis. It aims to contribute to the study of how political parties communicate and how their strategies are crucial in consolidating their positions. This process allows for anticipating the levels of interaction and involvement of militants and citizens with their respective party forces.