WASHINGTON -- Days before Spain holds a pivotal election, misleading claims about mail ballots and election fraud are spreading on social media and casting doubts about the results even before the votes have been counted.
The allegations, amplified by supporters of the center-right Popular Party and the far-right Vox Party, bear striking similarities to the baseless claims spread by then-President Donald Trump ahead of his 2020 U.S. election defeat, and offer a reminder that the distrust of elections that has marred U.S. politics has taken root in Europe, too.
Sunday's general election could tilt Spain in favor of the populist right, as the Popular Party looks to take power away from the Spanish Socialist Worker's Party and its far-left coalition partner, Unidas Podemos ("United We Can").
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called the early election after his left-leaning coalition lost big in this year's local and regional elections that were also marked by online misinformation about voting, as well as a surge in hateful content about Muslims and immigrants.
Most polls favor the Popular Party, but it will likely need the support of the Vox to form a governing majority.
In recent weeks, debunked videos claiming to show election workers stuffing the ballot box have circulated widely on Facebook and Twitter; Facebook labeled the videos as false while Twitter has taken no action. Other videos spreading on Facebook and TikTok allege Sanchez's party will steal the election to...
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