Madrid Press Association files ethics complaint over Spanish TV broadcast regarding Morocco

The Madrid Press Association (APM) has referred a case to Spain’s journalism ethics commission following a broadcast on the television channel Cuatro. During an episode of the program ‘Horizonte’, academic and politician Lahcen Haddad was featured in a segment where a guest called for the ‘political and economic destruction’ of Morocco without any immediate contradiction from the hosts.

Haddad has formally challenged the broadcaster, Mediaset España, regarding the lack of journalistic pushback against such statements. The APM confirmed it has transmitted the file to the Commission of Arbitration, Complaints, and Journalism Ethics, which is the highest competent body in Spain for judging breaches of press ethics.

In a related context of media tension, Sahrawi media collectives have denounced what they describe as a campaign of defamation and intimidation orchestrated by Moroccan authorities. These groups claim the campaign targets activists and journalists, such as Taleb Alisalem, who advocate for the self-determination of the Sahrawi people, in an attempt to silence international voices supporting Western Sahara.