Eurovenerify: Blackout in Spain and Portugal causes the spread of false theories and bulls on the internet

After Space, Portugal and some areas of the south of France They suffered on Monday a unprecedented blackoutOnline statements and deceptive theories circulate. Some of these false statements have been amplified in the main media, causing unfounded confusion and speculation On the cause of the Blackout, which left the passengers trapped in trains, lifts and forced shops to close the doors.

In declarations to the country, the president of the Spanish government, Pedro SánchezHe said these crisis situations create “the perfect condition for disinformation And Bulos “and urged people to” spread information from doubts. “Eurovereify controls some of the unfounded information.

There is no evidence that the blackout was due to a computer attack

We detected a series of statements that the European energy network had undergone a IT attack at the hands of Russia, Morocco or North Korea. Other false theories have suggested a terrorist attack.

The National Cryptological Center of Spain (Incibe), under the National Intelligence Center (CNI), investigated the possibility of a computer attack on Monday, while the President of the Government said that this All possible causes will be studied.

But Tuesday, Electric redSpanish red electricity operator, partially state property, has excluded the possibility of a computer attack, a human error or a meteorological phenomenon.

The operator indicated as a probable cause a Sudden disconnection Between two electrical power plants in the south -the west of the Iberian peninsula. A spokesman for the Portuguese government also excluded a computer attack as a possible cause, citing “a problem in the electric transmission network” in Spain.

EU sources They also have far from speculation On a computer attack. Speaking with the journalists of the doors of the European Parliament in Brussels on Monday, the vice -president of the European Commission, Teresa Ribera, said that “there is nothing that allows us to confirm that there was a sort of boycott or IT attack”.

Ursula von der Leyen did not accuse Russia

Shortly after the Blackout occurred, around 12:33 (11:33 Portuguese time) on Monday, a false narrative began to circulate which stated that the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der leyenHe had accused Russia of a “computer attack”.

The head of the commission, Paula Pinho, hastened Define the declarationsBy affirming that “the declaration issued in the press does not come from the president”. Tuesday Pinho said that the episode showed “to what extent the manipulation of the information can go”.

The anti -System politician Alvise PérezElected EURODIPUT last year, he was one of the managers clean The false statement. In his Telegram channel, Alvise published: “According to the” CNN “, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said in a press conference that it is a” direct attack on European sovereignty “, which indicates Russia”. From the Leyen He did not appear in this press conference on Monday and his declaration Diffusion on social networks does not speculate in any way the cause of the blackout.

The Portuguese network operator denies having blamed a “rare atmospheric phenomenon”

Several media – including Reuters, “Cnn” and “The Guardian” – reported on Monday that the Portuguese network operator, Nacais Energy Networks (Ren), had declared in a note “Rare atmospheric phenomenon“, that is, the variations in extreme temperature inside Spain were the culprit of mass blackout.

According to the declaration, the oscillations in very high voltage lines (400 kV), a phenomenon known as “induced atmospheric vibration”, would have caused “synchronization failures between electrical systems”. The Portuguese Prime Minister, Luís MontenegroThese statements have echoed Safe Monday that the problem “originated in Spain”.

But Ren said later that he had not made such a statementwhich led to Reuters and other great media to correct their information. “Ren confirms that he has not released this statement”, Bruno Silva, spokesman for Ren Tuesday.

There are no causes to cover the causes

The Spanish Ultra -Dreighist party Vox Tuesday accused the Spanish government of hiding the causes of the blackout. In his speech at the Congress of Deputies, the party parliamentary spokesman, Pepa Millán, said that the government and operator of the network “perfectly know what happened and does not mean (…) because the government is only responsible”.

The Spanish Interior Minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaskacounterattack by saying that the Spanish government Was “transparent” In the information you have provided. Tuesday Sánchez said his government would have requested a “Independent research“To determine the causes of the Blackout. He also refused to exclude any hypothesis, including that of a computer attack. The National Court is also investigating whether the blackout could be due to a” computer sabotage in the Spanish critical infrastructures. “