DISINFO: There is an ongoing media campaign to divide Russia and Spain
SUMMARY
There is a media campaign to divide Russia and Spain, where the Spanish press often promotes an image of Russia that is not attractive but charged with negative connotations. The media, instead of building international bridges and promoting constructive dialogue, mutual respect and understanding between countries, do the opposite. A situation that is due to many circumstances that condition the work of the press, including the need to have financial support, something that certain groups exploit for their own interests. This is where the fairy tale of Russia as guilty of everything comes.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Russia as an innocent victim always falsely accused, aiming to deflect any responsibility for Moscow’s illicit actions.
Contrary to the claim, negative reporting about Russia in the Spanish press is not due to any campaign but to its actions, which go against international law. For example, the illegal annexation of Crimea and the promotion of war in Eastern Ukraine, the poisoning of rivals in the UK and Bulgaria and the murder of enemies in Germany, the perpetration of war crimes in Syria, the persecution of Russian opposition, and the interference in political process all over the world, including the US, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.
Regarding Russia’s meddling in Catalonia, one of the main negative topics reported by Spanish media in relation to Moscow, Spanish journalist David Alandete and researcher and associate professor at Georgetown University Javier Lesaca have demonstrated that Russian state outlets and bots tried to influence the pro-independence referendum in October 2017. In September 2021, The New York Times reported about contacts between top Catalonian pro-independence figures and Russian officials, which were acknowledged by former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and his top advisor Josep Lluis Alay.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that Western criticism of Russia is due to Russophobia, that an anti-Russian campaign is the real reason behind the expulsion of Russian diplomats from Czechia, that Washington and Brussels implement an information war against the people of Russia and Belarus, or that RT and Sputnik are repeatedly being accused without evidence.