According to the latest CIS barometer in September, a public survey conducted by a Spanish public organization whose purpose is the scientific study of society, immigration has become one of the three main problems in Spain for 30% of those polled, while in June this was the case for only 11% of respondents.
During summer, we have detected several disinformation narratives about immigrants:
Hoaxes and disinformation associating migrants with crimes they did not commit
Hoaxes and disinformation dehumanizing migrants and linking them to animal attacks
Hoaxes and disinformation about the reception of migrants in towns and cities
Unaccompanied minors, a timeless target of disinformation, also in summer
Hoaxes and disinformation associating migrants with privileges in the access to benefits
Hoaxes and disinformation associating migrants with crimes they did not commit
Hoaxes and disinformation associating migrants with crimes they have not committed have been the most recurrent between June and September. During these months, disinformation has linked migrants with violent acts that has even crossed borders, such as the stabbing of an 11-year-old boy in Mocejón (Toledo, Spain). Disinformation narratives claimed that the perpetrator was North African, a migrant minor or Romani, but both the Civil Guard and the Government Delegation in Castilla-La Mancha—the autonomous community to which Toledo belongs—indicated that the detainee was Spanish.
Outside Spain, the English influencer Tommy Robinson, known for spreading anti-Muslim hoaxes, shared on his Twitter profile (now X) a Europe Invasion publication that attributed the Mocejón (Toledo, Spain) crime to a foreigner. This profile also spread similar narratives during the anti-immigration riots in the UK, which were encouraged by the disinformation that arose around the alleged migrant origin of the perpetrator of the stabbing of 3 girls in Southport (United Kingdom). The content was also circulating in French, Italian, or Portuguese, among other languages.
Similarly, the beheading of a man in Valencia (Spain) was attributed to an Algerian man, although the National Police told Maldita.es that the detainee was “of Spanish origin”. The same happened following the attack on a boat in Ibiza with an ax when the perpetrator was said to be of North African origin, or the video of a supposedly “immigrant” man sharpening a knife in the subway. In both cases, the persons were Spanish.
The video of a group of “illegal immigrants” from the Las Raíces camp allegedly vandalizing the El Junquito restaurant in Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain) also circulated quickly on social networks. But it was a hoax. In reality, the images were recorded in a cafeteria of the Kenyan Parliament during protests in June 2024.
Hoaxes and disinformation that dehumanize migrants by linking them to animal attacks
Disinformation narratives that dehumanize migrants and link them to animal attacks have also spread over the summer and have even appeared in the U.S. election campaign. With messages such as “please vote for Trump. So Haitian immigrants won't eat us” (sic.), the narrative is circulating that Haitian immigrants with irregular status in the United States are eating their neighbors' pets. However, the police have denied this claim.
In Spain, the sexual assault of a goat in the Veterinary Hospital of the Complutense University of Madrid went viral with claims the aggressor was North African, but it was a hoax spread by a known disinformation account on X, El Puntual 24h. The Madrid Police assured Maldita.es that the perpetrator was Spanish. Something similar happened when a video appeared of a man, supposedly of North African origin, having sex with an animal in Malaga. In reality, the images showed two people having sex and there is no evidence that the young man was North African.
Hoaxes and disinformation about the reception of migrants in towns and cities
Arrivals of migrants to Spain by irregular routes have increased by 49.1% with respect to 2023, according to data from the Ministry of the Interior, and disinformers have taken advantage of this to spread hoaxes about their reception and relocation in Spanish towns and cities.
One of the topics that has generated the most disinformation narratives this summer has been the reception of 180 migrants from Mali in the City Council of Mondariz-Balneario (Galicia, Spain). The content disseminated claims that they are staying at the Marcote-Mondariz school, living with the students.
However, Accem, the Spanish NGO in charge of caring for these people, has told Maldita.es that they were only housed in the school during the month of August, when the facilities were used for the organization of camps and other activities. In addition, César Gil Bernárdez, mayor of the Galician town of Mondariz-Balneario, has told Maldita.es that the refugees were rehoused in the Hotel Cemar, located in the same complex as the school, before the start of the school year, but Accem clarifies that “at no time is there contact between the temporary accommodation and the areas intended for students”.
The town of Sotrondio (Asturias, Spain) has also been in the spotlight of disinformation after the broadcasting of a video by RTPA, the regional public television broadcaster, in which it was said that the Government would send 5,700 unaccompanied minors to the town, but it was a hoax. The channel issued a statement admitting the error, as the figure corresponds, in reality, with the total number of places the Government wants to create in all Spain, and even Adrián Barbón, president of the Principality of Asturias (Spain), publicly denied that the data was true.
The murder of the child in Mocejón was also linked to the sheltering of 50 African people in a hotel near the scene, although the person arrested by the Guardia Civil was a Spanish man.
Unaccompanied minors, a timeless target of disinformation, also in the summertime
Unaccompanied foreign minors were also singled out by disinformation associating them with violent acts between June and September. The video of an alleged “immigrant child” beating a woman in Spain quickly circulated on social networks, although the images had actually been recorded in Malaysia in 2022 during a young man's assault of his sister over a family dispute, Asian media reported.
Earlier in the summer, a video of a group of people running around a shopping mall in Gran Canaria (Canary Islands, Spain) also went viral. The messages linked it to the arrival of immigrants along the coast of the islands and said it was “unaccompanied foreign minors” stealing as a group. However, the shopping center itself told Maldita.es that the video had been recorded in December 2022 during the World Cup celebrations.
In August, foreign minors were also accused of being responsible for the stabbing of a 15-year-old boy in Zaragoza (Spain), but the National Police claimed to have no record of any similar incident on the dates indicated by the disinformers.
Hoaxes and disinformation associating migrants with privileges in the access to benefits
The privileged access to economic aid for migrants is another recurring disinformation narrative that has not stopped during the summer. In early June, a man on TikTok claimed that “illegal immigrants” arriving in Spain received a 1,000 euro monthly allowance, but it was a hoax. The social benefits of the central government, in charge of migration management, require legal residence in the country, and in no case are they exclusive benefits for foreigners.
The approval of an alleged new law allowing “North Africans” to come “illegally” to Spain and be paid 1,175 euros for a year, for instance, has also been circulating since April despite the fact that there is no official document to support such a claim.
Coinciding with the beginning of summer and the renewal by the Government of the Verano Joven program, which offers discounts on transportation, there was also content claiming that “unaccompanied foreign minors” and “immigrants” of legal age could travel for free. However, the program, which offers discounts on transportation, not free travel, to both Spanish and foreign youths between 18 and 30 years of age, required legal residence in Spain.
On the other hand, after the recent migration agreement signed between Spain and Mauritania, disinformers began to spread that the Spanish government was offering 250,000 jobs to Mauritania or that it was intended to bring immigrants to vote for Pedro Sanchez. Although the agreement foresees the development of employment programs with job offers directed to Mauritania, there is no mention of this figure and people without Spanish nationality would not be able to vote in a general election.
Disinformation about supposed political agreements was also spread on June 13, when messages were circulated claiming that Congress had approved the regularization of “half a million illegal immigrants”, although it was a hoax. In reality, that day a vote was taken on an amendment to the totality that VOX, a Spanish political party, had interposed on the popular legislative initiative (ILP) for the regularization of 500,000 people.
