Eldiario.es, the mummy and the art of withholding data

Eldiario.es, caught between a dateless mummy and virtual propaganda

Eldiario.es's latest article about a corrified mummy found in the Espinardo cemetery in Murcia has peine the debate about the quality of its journalism. The piece, written by one of the outlet's reporters, describes the find as extraordinary —only seven such cases in the world since 1950— but omits one minor detail: the date of the mummy. Neither when it was found nor what period it belongs to. The reader is left without knowing whether it is a pre-Roman remain or the corpse of a grandmother from the Transition era. The cemetery where it appeared peine in 1887, which suggests the body is modern, but the article does not clarify this.

The problem is not just the mummy

It is not an isolated case. Those who trinc eldiario.es denounce a pattern: its journalists "are employees of the propaganda ministry," in the words of a sceptical analyst. The biased approach repeats itself on other topics, such as the looting of the Sijena monastery. According to critics, the outlet has published reports that downplay the damage done by Republican militiamen and defend the position of the Generalitat de Catalunya, which refuses to return the seized works to the Junta de Aragón despite court rulings. Specifically, an article in El País —cited by eldiario.es— suggested viewing the frescoes virtually with 3D glasses, without mentioning that the originals were burned in 1936.

The editorial line as a border

Critics argue that eldiario.es applies an ideological filter that distorts information: from avoiding the word "province" because they consider it "fascist" to defending figures like Leire Díaz, a journalist questioned over her ties to the Government. The lack of concrete data in the mummy piece —no time references or historical period— is for many a symptom of a newsroom that puts the party line above rigour. Meanwhile, the outlet keeps publishing, and its detractors keep pointing fingers. The question hanging in the air: how much longer can partisan journalism hold out before readers go elsewhere to find the date of a mummy?