Digital Campaign Targets Spanish Prime Minister After Clashes With Tel Aviv and Washington

As Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez escalated his criticism of Israeli policies and Madrid refused to engage in certain military arrangements tied to the war on Iran, he became the target of a wide-reaching digital campaign that extended beyond political criticism to personal attacks, including attempts to invoke issues related to his wife to undermine his public image.

In this context, Misbar’s team at Alaraby TV identified more than 170,000 posts issued by over 90,000 accounts attacking Sánchez and his wife through recurring narratives, including allegations of corruption and abuse of power, as well as attempts to link him to “war crimes” files. The campaign involved accounts supportive of Israel, others tied to the Spanish and European right, in addition to anonymous or low-credibility accounts that appeared within patterns of coordinated amplification.

This report analyzes the trajectory of the campaign, the languages involved, its geographic distribution and the key accounts that contributed to amplifying it, to understand how a political dispute with Madrid evolved into a digital pressure campaign aimed at discrediting the Spanish prime minister and shifting the debate from his stance on the war to personal and political accusations.

Patterns of Interaction in the Anti-Sánchez Campaign

Engagement patterns show a sudden spike in digital attacks on Pedro Sánchez, coinciding with his critical positions on the war on Iran and Israeli policies in the region, suggesting the presence of an organized campaign.

The campaign focused on two main axes: targeting Sánchez politically over his stance on Israel and the war, and reviving an ongoing corruption case involving his wife, alongside promoting legal actions reportedly initiated by Israeli nongovernmental organizations seeking to pursue him before the International Court of Justice.

Keyword analysis linked to the campaign identified more than 170,000 posts from over 90,000 accounts attacking Sánchez and his wife, attempting to discredit them by linking the Spanish government’s positions on the war and alleged Israeli crimes to repeated personal and political accusations.

Analysis of participating accounts revealed a notable presence of profiles displaying pro-Israel symbols, alongside accounts linked to the Spanish far right and other right-wing groups in Europe and the United States. Recurrent symbols included the Israeli flag, the U.S. flag, the cross, and the logo of the far-right Spanish party Vox.

In terms of language distribution, Spanish dominated the interaction at 66 percent, followed by English at 32 percent and French at 2 percent, indicating that the campaign primarily targeted the Spanish sphere while also extending to right-wing and pro-Israel audiences beyond Spain.

Geographically, accounts attributed to Spain led the interaction at 64 percent, followed by the United States at 13 percent and France at 3 percent. This distribution reinforces the view that the digital attack was not confined to Spain but amplified by broader pro-Israel networks aligned with right-wing discourse.

Narratives Driving the Campaign Against Sánchez

Analysis of the most frequently used terms shows that the campaign against Pedro Sánchez did not focus solely on his political stance on Israel and the war on Iran, but sought to shift the debate toward personal and legal accusations affecting both him and his wife, Begoña Gómez.

Word cloud analysis revealed frequent mentions of Sánchez alongside references to his wife, including phrases such as “the Spanish prime minister’s wife” and “Begoña Gómez.” Terms associated with corruption and abuse of power — including “corruption,” “influence peddling,” “embezzlement” and “private interests” — were prominently used to frame both Sánchez and his wife in a quasi-criminal context rather than a purely political dispute.

The campaign also incorporated explicitly legal terminology, including “charges,” “prosecution,” “war crimes” and “complaint before The Hague,” in an attempt to associate Sánchez with serious legal and political cases and portray his stance on Israel as grounds for accountability rather than a diplomatic position.

Overall, the campaign’s core narrative did not merely attack Sánchez for criticizing Israel, but sought to redefine him in the public eye as a “corrupt,” “compromised” and “anti-Israel” figure. This shift from political critique to personal defamation lies at the heart of the campaign identified by Misbar.

Accounts Amplifying the Campaign

Monitoring identified a group of influential accounts involved in directing the attack against Pedro Sánchez and his wife, ranging from pro-Israel profiles to Spanish and European right-wing accounts, as well as French- and English-speaking users. These accounts contributed to spreading and recycling similar narratives, particularly those related to corruption allegations and criticism of Sánchez’s stance on Israel and the war on Iran.

Among them was Acción y Comunicación sobre Oriente Medio, a Spanish lobbying organization supporting Israeli-Spanish relations, which published dozens of posts linking Sánchez’s political positions to domestic allegations involving his government and his wife.

The account Spain4Israel also played a role in amplifying the campaign by sharing and resharing content from Israeli officials and influencers, alongside material criticizing Sánchez and accusing his government of bias against Israel.

SissiEmperatriz, an Israeli activist of Argentine origin, emerged as a prominent voice repeatedly attacking Sánchez, with some of her posts gaining significant traction, particularly those linking his positions on Israel to alleged support for Iran and to accusations against his wife.

The French-language account Simon Weinberg, which does not display a clear personal identity, contributed to spreading the campaign to non-Spanish-speaking audiences through posts attacking Sánchez and his wife.

Another French-language account, Raph Israël, also participated in the campaign, focusing on Sánchez’s stance on Israel and circulating allegations related to his wife.

The official account of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs also joined the attack, alongside the Israeli minister for diaspora affairs, lending the campaign a degree of official and semi-official amplification.

Spanish right-wing politician Jaime de Berenguer, affiliated with the Vox party, also attacked Sánchez over his positions on Israel and Iran, aligning with broader right-wing discourse blaming his government for straining Madrid’s relations with Tel Aviv and Washington.

The widely followed European right-wing platform Visegrád 24, of Polish origin, contributed to amplifying the campaign through posts focusing on corruption allegations and political accusations, extending the campaign’s reach beyond Spain.

Suspicious Accounts

In addition to known and influential accounts, Misbar identified a large number of low-credibility accounts involved in amplifying the campaign. Analysis showed shared characteristics among these accounts, including limited follower counts, lack of clear personal identity, low original activity and repeated reposting of the same content within short time frames.

According to the findings, approximately 16,000 accounts displayed such indicators. While this does not conclusively prove they are automated or part of a coordinated network, it suggests the presence of a pattern of digital amplification that contributed to increasing engagement with narratives targeting Sánchez and his wife.

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