Author: Ana Romero Vicente, EU DisinfoLab
Reviewer: Coral García Dorado, Maldita.es
Introduction
- Spain’s disinformation is highly event-driven, with natural disasters, elections, and geopolitical tensions acting as immediate catalysts for rapid narrative escalation.
- Core themes including migration, climate denial, gender backlash, and institutional distrust, are continuously adapted to new contexts through “diagonal” narratives that blur traditional left-right political lines.
- The ecosystem is increasingly dominated by “digital agitators” who use a pseudo-journalistic style to mobilize large communities via X and encrypted channels.
- The lowering of technical barriers through Generative AI has enabled the mass-circulation of synthetic content, such as fabricated documents and “cheap-fake” audio, to erode institutional trust.
- Foreign Information Manipulation Interference (FIMI) increasingly intersects with domestic efforts, specifically through the amplification of internal tensions.
- Spain’s counterstrategy combines independent fact-checking with EU-aligned regulation yet faces significant challenges regarding the speed and scale of cross-platform dissemination.
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The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of EU DisinfoLab. This factsheet does not represent an endorsement by EU DisinfoLab of any organisation.
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