Spanish media used misleading images perpetuating anti-Moroccan migrant sentiment

Several xenophobic, racist and anti-immigration websites in Spain used old pictures of Moroccans in Casablanca falsely attributing it to Moroccan migrants in the Iberian country, propagating anti-Moroccan migrant hate.

The picture, originally posted to the “Tcharmil Casablanca” Facebook page, was first published in March 2014, and shows a group of young people posing with machetes and knives, but Spanish media falsely shared it and associated it with an attack in Velilla de San Antonio, Madrid.

“On November 16, 2020, the Mediterráneo Digital website published an article featuring an image of young people holding machetes, titled “A group of men beat a 39-year-old man to death in Madrid,” reported Maldita.

However, the Civil Guard back then denied this false information and told Maldita that the person detained for this attack was an adult Spanish national.

The same source added that the investigation has been closed, and the case is currently pending trial, stressing that there is no evidence linking any unaccompanied foreign minor to the incident.

Another publication by the Mediterráneo Digital website falsely associated the picture with Moroccan minors in Spain, claiming that unaccompanied foreign minors receive a payment of 600 euros per month.

However, the image does not depict “menas” (unaccompanied minors) in Spain, and the payment is for people who were previously under the administration’s care in Catalonia, regardless of country, according to Maldita.

“It is not a photo that reflects a group of young migrants, nor is it current: it has been circulating since at least 2014 and reflects the Tcharmile gang in Morocco,” stressed Maldita, describing these publications as a hoax.

Moroccan parliamentarian Khadija Rouissi had questioned the Minister of the Interior at the time about the phenomenon of Tcharmil, requesting information on the government’s strategies to combat attacks and robberies, the same pictures were used across several media websites to discuss the growing trend.

The xenophobia towards Moroccan migrants among the Spanish population is becoming increasingly evident.

Last month, protesters in Madrid were reported to have used racist chants targeting specifically Moroccans. The protestors chanted slogans like “No Moors, Spain is not a zoo,” during a demonstration that was originally supposed to be against a political amnesty agreement.

These cries, coupled with others proclaiming that “Spain is Christian, not Muslim,” reflect a distressing display of bigotry and xenophobia targeting Moroccans and Muslims in Spain.