The unprecedented that plunged Spain, Portugal and parts of southern France in the dark, paralyzing transport, hospitals and the daily lives of millions of citizens was the reason to fill the internet and social media with non -existent rumors and theories of rumors.
The most widespread false news
- Cyberattack by foreign forces: Many have argued that the European Energy Network has received cyberattack by Russia, Morocco or North Korea. Others spoke of a terrorist attack. However, both the Spanish and the Portuguese authorities have categorically denied the possibility of cyberattack, and the European Commission has made it clear that there is no evidence to confirm such a scenario.
- Declaration of : It has falsely circulated that the President of the European Commission accused Russia of “direct attack on European sovereignty”. The Commission itself immediately denied that it came from such a statement, while von der Laien did not even appear at the press conference.
- Rare atmospheric phenomenon as a cause: Some international media reported that the Portuguese Network manager Ren attributed the blackout to a “rare atmospheric phenomenon”, which was later officially denied by the company itself.
- Concealment of the truth by the government: Political parties such as the far -right VOX have accused the Spanish government of covering up the real reasons. The Spanish authorities responded that the briefing was transparent and that an independent investigation would be carried out.
The reality: What do we know so far
National networks and Spanish and Portugal governments confirmed that the blackout was caused by a sudden loss of 15 GW of electricity within five seconds, accounting for 60% of Spain’s demand.
The problem appears to be related to technical failure in the interconnection of Spanish-France networks and possibly to interruption of production units in southwestern Iberia. There are no signs of cyberattack or sabotage, while investigations are ongoing.
As has been shown in other crises, uncertainty and lack of immediate information create the ideal environment for the dissemination of misinformation. False news is often traded by people or groups with political or economic incentives, but also by users who reproduce uncontrollable inaccurate information on social media.
