Disinformation fuelled Spain anti-migrant riots after pensioner attack

Euronews

6 days ago

Torre Pacheco, a town in Spain's south-eastern region of Murcia, has made headlines this week after a pensioner was beaten up by three young men, sparking protests which spiralled into violent unrest.
The 68-year-old victim of the attack, Domingo, has said he was taking his routine morning walk when three men appeared, one of whom lunged at him before beating him in the head, face and body.
Police have discarded robbery as the motive and say the attack was likely filmed as part of a social media 'challenge' targeting the elderly and vulnerable.
Three people of North African origin have been arrested. One of them, a 19-year-old man believed to be the attacker, was detained in the Basque province of Gipuzkoa while attempting to flee to France.
The incident sparked two nights of protests, which rapidly turned into violent disorder, with reports of groups roaming the streets looking for people of foreign origin. Several people were injured, despite a heavy police presence.
Far-right, anti-migrant groups such as 'Deport Them Now' have called for attacks on people of North African origin. A Spanish leader of the group, known only by the initials C.L.F., was detained on suspicion of inciting violence in the province of Barcelona.
His arrest is one of at at least 14 which have been made concerning the ensuing riots, with reports of businesses belonging to residents with foreign origins, including a kebab shop, being vandalised.
Torre Pacheco is home to 40,000 inhabitants, of whom 6,829 are of African origin, according to the statistical office of the Murcia regional government.
Images of pensioner's injuries are real, but no footage has yet emerged
Images of the bruised and blood-stained face of Domingo, the 68-year-old victim of the attack, have gone viral.
These images are real and show the extent and gravity of his injuries.
But a video circulating widely online claiming to show the attack – amplified by prominent political figures, including the leader of the anti-establishment SALF party – is in fact unrelated.
Both the victim, Domingo, and the local authorities have confirmed that while it seems the perpetrators filmed the attack, this is not the corresponding video.
It has since emerged that this video in fact shows a separate attack on another man from Almería, a town some 200km from Torre Pacheco in the region of Andalucia.
In a video statement published on Instagram by the account @josemoya6422, the man confirms that the video shows him and holds up the items of clothing he wore during the attack as evidence.
'I am from Almería (...), these are two different attacks', the man explains. In another post, he explains that two youngsters are already in a provisional prison for the attack on him.
He also shares a link to an article by La Voz de Almería dated 31 May 2025, which corresponds to his account of events.
No verified footage of the attack on Domingo has yet emerged, but the photographs showing the injuries he suffered are real.
Unrelated videos claim to show ensuing unrest
Euroverify and Spanish fact-checkers have also identified a series of unrelated videos associated with the anti-migrant unrest that has emerged in the town of Torre Pacheco since the attack.
One widely-circulating video claims to show a group of young people, described by social media users as 'migrants', attacking another elderly man in the street in the town.
But a reverse-image search shows that it was filmed in Guadalajara, Mexico, in 2021, and has often re-emerged as disinformation related to young migrants.
Another video shows people throwing objects at Spanish police officers as men are arrested on the street, with users claiming it shows Torre Pacheco.
But the scene occurred in the town of Torrevieja, in a separate Spanish province, earlier this month.
Local authority didn't associate criminality with migration
A fake communication from the town hall of Torre Pacheco is also circulating widely online, in which a protest is purportedly convened against the situation of "insecurity" in the municipality due to incidents in which "immigration" is a "common denominator".
But the document is fake, and the town hall of Torre Pacheco has denied it ever existed.
Yet, it circulated rapidly on Telegram and was also amplified by Russian state-sponsored media Pravda.
Despite this, a congregation was organised by the local town hall in the aftermath of Domingo's attack, as advertised on its official website.
The poster reads that the congregation was "against recent criminal acts in the municipality" but makes no reference to migration as a common denominator, as claimed in the disinformation.
Authorities clamp down on disinformation
Incitement to hatred on social platforms also played a role in inflaming tensions in Torre Pacheco, Spanish officials have said.
Euroverify has seen several messages calling for immigrants in the town to "be hunted down" in two Telegram groups associated with the far-right extremist group 'Deport Them Now', which were suspended by the authorities during the unrest.
Police sources have also told Spanish media El Mundo that "hundreds" of radical extremists travelled to Torre Pacheco to take part in the riots after they were mobilised online.