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More than 54,000 instances of hate speech were recorded on social media in Spain in June, according to a report by the Spanish Observatory on Racism and Xenophobia, a body under the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migration. In its monthly bulletin, based on data from the FARO artificial intelligence system, the Observatory reported a 12-percentage-point increase in hate messages targeting people from North Africa, rising from 69% in May to 81% in June among all reported messages.
This alarming trend, the report notes, coincided with several socio-political and sporting events, including riots following the Champions League final and the arrest of a police officer in Torrejón in connection with the death of a Moroccan citizen.
The report found that 56% of the detected content involved dehumanization, 22% falsely linked target groups to public safety threats, and 14% explicitly incited their expulsion.
However, only 29% of reported hate messages were removed by platforms, with significant discrepancies : TikTok deleted 92% of reported content, Facebook 40%, Instagram 23%, while YouTube removed just 5%, and X (formerly Twitter) only 9%.
Sharp Rise in Hate Speech Targeting North Africans
Another striking finding is that 95% of hostile messages were directed at migrant men. Most posts involved explicitly aggressive language (89%), while others employed coded language, emojis, or indirect expressions to evade moderation filters.
The June 2025 data confirms a deeply concerning trend: not only has the volume of hate speech grown in recent months, but it has also become more aggressive and increasingly sophisticated in how it spreads.
Throughout the year, attacks have disproportionately targeted one group, people from North Africa. This group went from being the subject of 57% of hate messages in March to 81% in June, making them the primary focus of digital hostility.
Simultaneously, the formats used for hate speech have evolved. Beyond aggressive language, users are now incorporating visual content, emojis, coded terms, and even AI-generated images to bypass content moderation and enhance the viral spread of discriminatory messages.
Meanwhile, the presence of hostile messages targeting unaccompanied minors or Muslims has declined in recent months, though this does not signal a genuine improvement in the digital environment, the report cautions.
Responding to the findings, Spain’s Minister of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migration, Elma Saiz, stated: «Dehumanization, the use of violent and coded language, and incitement to expel vulnerable groups are intolerable forms of discrimination. We cannot allow hatred to become normalized in a free and democratic society like Spain».
These findings come as the Spanish authorities have arrested a man suspected of leading a far-right Telegram group called «Deport Them Now». The latter had openly called for «hunts» targeting Moroccan migrants in Torre Pacheco, Murcia. The arrest follows violent unrest in the town, where 13 people were detained and over 120 identified after retaliatory attacks against migrants, particularly those of Moroccan origin. The violence in Murcia erupted last Wednesday after the circulation of a video showing an elderly man being violently attacked by three young men of North African origin, according to the victim’s own account to local media.
