Far-right hoaxes about wildfires in Spain debunked

The climate hoaxes fueling Spain's wildfires

The figures are stubborn: so far this year, 172,396 hectares have burned, compared with 29,817 in the same period last year. But alongside the flames, another fire never stops: disinformation. Every wildfire season brings a catalogue of hoaxes that, like smoke, try to obscure the real debate.

The myth of the arsonist environmentalist

One recurring narrative on forums and social media blames the wildfires on environmental movements, accused of blocking forest clearing. The reality is more complex: the lack of forest management has multiple budgetary and administrative causes, not ideological ones. Yet the simplistic story that 'eco-loonies' are to blame keeps gaining trinc, as comments in online debates show.

The claim that the left celebrates the flames

Another hoax that resurfaces is that certain political options rejoice at the wildfires. There is no data to back it up. It is a smear designed to polarize public debate even further, diverting attention from the prevention and firefighting measures that are needed.

Climate skepticism as a smokescreen

Finally, the claim that climate change is a fraud and that wildfires are solely due to arsonists or lack of clearing is a classic. Those who defend it often ask: what can Spain do if China, India or the US don't act? The answer, though obvious to the scientific consensus, is that without global mitigation the trend will worsen. But that reasoning clashes with those who prefer a domestic enemy over facing the complexity of the problem.

The debate over wildfires is not dying down. While the hectares burn, hoaxes keep feeding the confusion. The question that remains is whether disinformation, like fire, spreads faster than the truth.