The global accomplices of the pseudo-media and trolls of Girona

The board of the Girona branch of the Journalists' Association has issued a statement expressing its concern over the proliferation of pseudo-media and profiles on social networks that act as “instruments of propaganda and disinformation” and “spread hate speech, promote discrimination, stigmatization, and violate human rights.” It notes that direct attacks on journalists have been carried out from one of these accounts (Girona Perduda), insulting them and questioning their work. The act of identifying some of the anonymous individuals and explaining their links to the far-right party Vox has led to this harassment campaign.

In any case, I want to focus on one of the phrases from the Association's statement: “Faced with propaganda, disinformation, and plagiarism: journalism and rigor.” Yes, of course, but the problem is not solved with this proclamation, which any minimally civilized person should subscribe to. When the Association says it is making “an urgent call to all of society, to institutions, political parties, media outlets, and professionals in the sector not to grant credibility or legitimacy to these false media outlets,” it forgets a fundamental element in this absurd equation: the networks. Because it is the large platforms that allow these toxic campaigns. Furthermore: it is part of their business to exploit hate and polarization, so they fuel them, no matter how much their discourse is based on the lie that they only provide the highway where messages circulate. No: they decide who drives a 600 and who drives a Lamborghini. Therefore, rather than asking for rigor—which goes in one ear and out the other for social media trolls, often without finding many obstacles in between—what must be demanded is regulation that forces those who spread disinformation, insult, or harass to be held accountable.