A recent investigation by Golden Owl, an open-source intelligence firm, has uncovered a complex network of disinformation aimed at blaming Morocco for any incident that may occur during Spain's upcoming election on November 29. The investigation, which analyzed 54,737 items across social media platforms and dark-web documents, found that a hostile network has announced in advance that it will blame whatever happens on Israel, the United States, or Morocco. This has raised concerns about the potential for Morocco to be unfairly scapegoated.
At the center of Spain's Spanish-language pro-Kremlin ecosystem is Enrique Arias Gil, a Madrid political scientist who has been placed on Europol's most-wanted list and is currently a self-described "refugee in the Russian Federation." Arias Gil runs the Telegram channel "Desinformador Ruso," which has 14,500 subscribers and has published content aimed at influencing Spanish public opinion. The investigation found that Arias Gil's channel has published Russian Army recruitment advertisements, appeals for Spaniards to inform on their own officials, and invitations to join cryptocurrency-paid cyberattacks.
The investigation identified two main frames used to portray Morocco as a threat to Spain. One frame, "Ceuta, the Sahara and the Russian protector," uses the occupied enclaves as a pretext to taunt followers about the planned invasion of Ceuta and Melilla. Another frame, "invert the interference story," instructs Spaniards that the true foreign hands peddling their sovereignty belong to "the United States, the United Kingdom, Israel, the European Union, and Morocco." The goal is to position Russia as the defender of Spanish territory against Morocco.
The investigation also found that a farm of 25 TikTok accounts posted identical hashtag strings 112 times between October 1 and 15, reaping 1.39 million plays. The posts were published not from Spain but from the United States, Germany, and France, and were grafted onto unrelated stock footage. A separate account, @cne_oficial, impersonated Spain's electoral authority, yoking "do not vote this 29-N" to an image of the Congress of Deputies in flames.
Golden Owl's co-founder, Sabi Soltani, has laid bare the architecture of the disinformation network in a thread on X. Soltani explains that the network consists of three layers: the hub, which is a Telegram channel run from Moscow by Enrique Arias Gil; a middle layer of accounts that amplify the content; and a third layer of accounts that appear to be Spanish but are actually part of the disinformation network.
Moroccan author and political analyst Samir Bennis has analyzed the findings and concluded that the networks have seeded hoaxes casting Morocco, the United States, and Israel as "the biggest threats to Spain's stability." These falsehoods have been viewed by tens of millions, and the chronology of the disinformation campaign is particularly consequential. The same networks mangled the Supreme Court's July 8 ruling, leading would-be migrants to believe they would be regularized if they reached occupied Ceuta by sea.
The Spanish state has half-conceded that external actors have played a role in amplifying disinformation. The Guardia Civil's Information HQ weighed six hypotheses for the mass entry of migrants into Ceuta, including the hand of an external actor. Pedro Sánchez and members of his cabinet have pointed to accounts tied to Russia, Israel, and the international far right in the amplification of disinformation. The investigation's findings have significant implications for Morocco and highlight the need for vigilance in the face of disinformation campaigns.
Key points
- Morocco has been pre-positioned as a scapegoat for any incident that may occur during Spain's election on November 29.
- A complex network of disinformation has been uncovered, aimed at blaming Morocco for any incident on voting day.
- The disinformation campaign has been linked to Enrique Arias Gil, a Madrid political scientist with ties to Russia.
