Podemos Calls for Investigation into Viral Misinformation on Moroccan Voters in Catalonia

In a question filed in Congress, Podemos indicated that this information has been published on Twitter and has "quickly" gone viral. But the news has not been relayed by any media, assured the deputies Jaume Asens and Joan Mena who designate members of the police and the Civil Guard as the authors of this hoax. "Several ’retweets’ have been produced by automated ’bots’ or directed by unidentified persons," the Podemos deputies specified in their question to which Europa Press had access.

According to Podemos, this massive dissemination of the hoax "is intentional", like the defamation campaign against Colau, and "would represent" an "incitement to hatred towards the Maghreb and Moroccan community" to whom "directly" the "commission of a fraud that would affect public services and all citizens" and "the falsification of the results of the municipal elections" are imputed.

"The authors of these tweets and their dissemination, including lawyers, psychologists and members of the State security forces and bodies, were aware of the false nature of the message disseminated and their tweet was not accompanied by any journalistic source or evidence likely to give credibility or verify its veracity, the obvious objective being to spread a false rumor against the Moroccan community and against the governing team of Barcelona," they denounce.

Podemos is asking Minister Marlaska to investigate the origin of the hoax, given that this type of message "can play a decisive role in electoral campaign contexts and condition the choice of candidates in the May 28 elections." The party is also asking the Ministry of the Interior if it has all the necessary means to deal with the "growing" phenomenon of fake news.