The Madrid Press Association has referred a formal complaint by Moroccan academic Lahcen Haddad to Spain’s journalism ethics commission after a Cuatro television debate aired unchallenged calls for the “political and economic destruction” of Morocco.
On 31 July 2026, during the program Horizonte, guest Taleb Alisalem, a Polisario member with visceral hatred of all things Moroccan, stated that Spain could destroy Morocco politically and economically without military force.
Neither the presenters nor other panelists contradicted him. The segment was later promoted on Mediaset platforms.
Haddad stressed that legitimate criticism of Moroccan policy is protected speech, but advocating the collective economic ruin of a nation of nearly 40 million people crosses into rhetoric of hate speech and collective punishment and raises serious ethical questions under international standards, including the UN Rabat Plan of Action.
Spanish media have repeatedly presented Alisalem as an independent “expert”. In reality, he functions as a consistent Polisario mouthpiece. Presenting a partisan advocate of a movement that seeks to dismantle Moroccan territorial integrity as a neutral commentator constitutes a further ethical violation.
Inviting an open opponent of the Kingdom to pronounce on its destruction without challenge or disclosure of his affiliation only compounds the breach of basic journalistic standards.
Neither Mediaset nor the program team has responded to Haddad’s detailed letter.
