Spain’s government spokesperson, Pilar Alegría, stated on Tuesday that social media platforms should remain neutral and avoid meddling in the political affairs of other nations. Her remarks followed comments by Elon Musk, CEO of X, about crime statistics in Spain that sparked a broader debate involving European leaders.
“We believe that these platforms must always act with absolute neutrality and above all, without interfering,” Alegría said during a press conference.
Musk commented “Wow” in response to a post on X, originally published by Visegrad24, which shared an article from La Razón claiming that “91% of those convicted for rape in Catalonia are foreigners.”
The post highlighted that immigrants make up just 17% of the region’s population. The data was confirmed by the Catalan Justice Department, which noted that 22 of the 24 individuals convicted or on remand for rape in Catalonia were non-Spanish citizens.
Catalonia’s Socialist regional leader, Salvador Illa, criticised using such statistics to fuel divisive narratives. “We can’t allow democracy to fall into the hands of tech billionaires allied with the far right,” Illa said at an event in Barcelona.
“We won’t allow anyone to use Catalonia’s name to spread hate speech,” he added, without directly naming Musk.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez also rejected the idea of linking immigration to crime, emphasising that “foreigners are neither better nor worse than Spaniards” in terms of criminal behaviour. He has previously faced criticism from the far-right Vox party over his liberal immigration policies.
A report from Spain’s Interior Ministry published in September supported Sánchez’s stance, noting that crime rates in Spain have remained stable or decreased since 2011. The report concluded that “the immigration phenomenon is not having a negative or significant impact on crime rates.”
