Key facts
- Misleading claims about wildfire origins and government response are circulating in Spain during a heatwave.
- Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has urged the public to rely on credible information and warned about the spread of false claims.
- Fabricated images of newspaper front pages falsely claimed significant cuts to wildfire prevention funding.
- Claims linking fires to solar farm projects have been debunked by fact-checkers.
- The working hypothesis for one wildfire is a fallen electricity cable, not deliberate ignition for development.
As Spain grapples with devastating wildfires amid a heatwave, false claims about the fires' origins and the government's response have proliferated online. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has emphasized the crucial role of the media in combating misinformation and urged the public to rely on credible sources, warning that the spread of false information can exacerbate emergency situations.
Among the misleading narratives are fabricated newspaper front pages, one purporting to show El País claiming a drastic cut in wildfire prevention funding from €423 million in 2018 to €181 million in 2026. However, El País did not publish such a front page, and official figures indicate an increase in central government investment in wildfire prevention, rising from €13 million in 2018 to €28.3 million in 2024.
Another circulating claim alleges that the fire in Los Gallardos was deliberately started to clear land for a solar farm project, specifically the proposed Sorbas II photovoltaic project by EIDF. Fact-checking by Maldita revealed that the proposed solar plant site was not impacted by the wildfire and was planned for agricultural land, which would not require reclassification. Authorities have not linked the Los Gallardos fire to the solar project, with investigators' working hypothesis pointing to a fallen electricity cable or power line.
Similar online posts suggest a direct link between the rise of solar farm projects and wildfires, with accusations that fires are deliberately sparked for redevelopment. However, Spain's Forestry Law generally prohibits changing the use of burned forest land for at least 30 years, with limited exceptions. Fact-checkers have also debunked claims that the UN's 2030 Agenda or Spain's Forestry Law prohibit forest clearing, clarifying that regional authorities are responsible for wildfire prevention work.