DISINFO: Spanish authorities using illegal software to spy on WhatsApp groups of farmer protests
SUMMARY
There is information in internet that the Information Service of Spain’s Guardia Civil is using the illegal software FinSpy to monitor the WhatsApp groups which are currently promoting tractor protests all over Spanish territory.
RESPONSE
This is a conspiracy theory not backed by any evidence. The source for this story is a single article in the pro-Kremlin outlet MPR21, which itself does not provide any proof of the claim either. No other reliable outlet, researcher, journalist, or credible source mentions this allegation.
The objective of this disinformation story appears to be to foment discontent among Spanish farmers protesting against the government, aligning with a broader pro-Kremlin campaign to exploit these mobilisations. For instance, on the same day, Russia's hacking group NoName057(16) targeted the websites of several Spanish institutions "in solidarity with the protests."
This is the same group that had already taken part in a Russian campaign to interfere in Spain’s general election in July 2023, as confirmed by the 2nd Report of the European External Action Service (EEAS) on Foreign Interference and Information Manipulation (FIMI) published in January 2024.