The latest EDMO Brief focuses on disinformation narratives about Muslim migrants and Ukrainian refugees.
Since autumn, disinformation about migrants and Muslims seems to be on the rise in Europe. Many false narratives about migrants and foreigners, especially Muslims, were detected in Spain in December, also in relation to the defeat of the country’s national football team against Morocco in the World Championship. They accused Moroccan fans of having looted stores, destroyed shop windows, set buildings on fire and even killed a Spanish fan. In fact, Moroccan fans did not cause any serious incidents in Spain.
The false news that spilt over from Spain to the rest of the EU is that of a person destroying a Christmas nativity scene with a hammer in Calahorra, a town in north-eastern Spain. A false video claims that the person is a Muslim immigrant attacking a Christian symbol: the culprit is actually a Spanish national with mental problems. This false news was detected as the most viral in the EU in December.
You can read the complete report here.