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September 26, 2024 – Spain –
A troubling surge in online harassment is threatening press freedom in Spain. In September 2024, the Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) consortium—backed by the International Press Institute (IPI) and others—raised the alarm over a targeted campaign of digital attacks against an investigative team at La Sexta TV. The harassment was orchestrated by Daniel Esteve, CEO of eviction firm Desokupa, and involved repeated doxxing threats and broad intimidation across social media platforms, including X and Instagram.
Esteve escalated the situation after La Sexta’s Equipo de Investigación aired an inquiry into his controversial housing eviction operations. He responded by publicly exposing one journalist’s personal information—home address, phone number, and children’s school—urging his two million followers to submit “dirty or funny” material about the reporter. Esteve also threatened to orchestrate hostage-like occupations of journalists’ second homes using squatters.
This type of online intimidation is deeply harmful. While legal threats and defamation are familiar tactics, coordinated digital harassment aims to silence journalists and chill investigative work. Such attacks particularly endanger vulnerable reporters—especially women—who already face targeted misogyny and physical threats in digital spaces.
IPI and its allies called on Spanish authorities to act swiftly: law enforcement should investigate these digital campaigns, hold perpetrators accountable, and offer protective support to attacked journalists. Digital platforms must also take responsibility by removing dangerous content, blocking harassing users, and improving mechanisms to report online abuse.
Spain isn’t unique. Across Europe, Mapping Media Freedom reports growing numbers of online attacks—from insults and threats to amplified doxxing—creating a hostile virtual environment that often spills into real-world danger for journalists
Reference –
Spain: barrage of online intimidation against journalists threatens safety (ipi.media)
