{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,14]],"date-time":"2026-04-14T10:00:02Z","timestamp":1776160802803,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":66,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,14]],"date-time":"2026-04-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1776124800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Journalism and Media"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Digital media have reshaped electoral communication, yet official campaign websites, owned and strategically controlled media spaces, remain underexamined within hybrid media systems. This study investigates how these websites function in Portugal\u2019s 2026 presidential election, focusing on the tension between participatory affordances and strategic control. A qualitative-dominant comparative content analysis of all eleven candidate websites is conducted using an integrated multi-model framework combining interactivity, web campaigning, functional analysis, digital sophistication, and political framing. The findings reveal a stratified digital landscape in which most websites operate as unidirectional communication hubs prioritizing narrative coherence and mobilization over deliberative interaction. Rather than functioning as democratic equalizers, campaign websites reproduce and amplify pre-existing strategic and organizational asymmetries. A key contribution of the study is the identification of a systematic association between the strength of campaign framing and the level of digital infrastructural investment. The study contributes by conceptualizing campaign websites as central media infrastructures and by reframing digital campaigning as a strategy-driven, rather than technology-driven, process.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/journalmedia7020080","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,14]],"date-time":"2026-04-14T08:14:17Z","timestamp":1776154457000},"page":"80","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Strategic Control over Participatory Promise: Campaign Websites as Media Infrastructures in Portugal\u2019s 2026 Presidential Election"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"7","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2545-0617","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ant\u00f3nio","family":"Cardoso","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Fernando Pessoa University, 4249-004 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"LABCOM\u2014Laborat\u00f3rio de Comunica\u00e7\u00e3o, University of Beira Interior, 6201-001 Covilh\u00e3, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9544-7117","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jorge","family":"Figueiredo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Economics and Business Sciences, Lus\u00edada University of Porto, 4100-348 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"COMEGI\u2014Centro de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o em Organiza\u00e7\u00f5es, Mercados e Gest\u00e3o Industrial, Lus\u00edada University, 4100-348 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Isabel","family":"Oliveira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Economics and Business Sciences, Lus\u00edada University of Porto, 4100-348 Porto, Portugal"},{"name":"COMEGI\u2014Centro de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o em Organiza\u00e7\u00f5es, Mercados e Gest\u00e3o Industrial, Lus\u00edada University, 4100-348 Porto, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1805-3691","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Am\u00e2ndio","family":"Silva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Atl\u00e2ntico Business School, 4405-604 Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6238-181X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Manuel Sousa","family":"Pereira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto Polit\u00e9cnico de Viana do Castelo, 4930-678 Valen\u00e7a, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"29","article-title":"Political presence on Facebook during and beyond election campaigns: The portuguese case","volume":"17","author":"Rosa","year":"2023","journal-title":"Observatorio (OBS*)"},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"Kaid, L. 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