Cadena SER is on the verge of being labeled as far-right by leftist supporters of Sánchez

The Spanish left-wing media has spent decades practicing a blatant witch hunt against those who strayed from its ideological fold.

Pedro Sánchez tests the docility of the Spanish people towards socialist censorship
The 'anti-Francoist' left is reviving Francoist censorship against journalists in Spain

Some readers of this blog are very young and didn't experience it, but . Its close ties to the governments of Felipe González and José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero led this media group to become a very active part of the leftist inquisition in Spain, what is now known as "cancel culture," which consisted of politically and socially ostracizing anyone who dared to contradict progressive dogmas.

Things have been changing for some time now. The rise of a right wing that doesn't apologize to the left for disagreeing has made things increasingly difficult for this progressive inquisition. Now, the socialist corruption scandals surrounding Pedro Sánchez are shattering their media bloc, a phenomenon precipitated by Zapatero's indictment. This is triggering a phenomenon that is already a classic throughout history: rats abandoning a sinking ship.

Last week it was revealed that Cadena SER has decided to let go of Àngels Barceló, one of Sánchez's staunchest media supporters. The veteran journalist had been with the station for 21 years. Her close ties to the government appear to be one of the reasons for this change. For months, the PRISA Group has been trying to distance itself from La Moncloa, the palace that serves as the residence of the Prime Minister, a change of course that coincides with the wave of corruption scandals in the PSOE. PRISA is a business, and its owners don't want to tie it to a party in decline.

The very day Barceló's departure from SER became public, the pro-Sánchez media stronghold launched a smear campaign against the station: TVE—controlled by the government—spoke of SER's "shift to the right." That same day, one of the most blatant socialist rags joined the fray: El Plural echoed the accusation, in yet another attempt to cover up the corruption-ridden holes in the Sánchez regime's structure. Yesterday the far-left rag Público joined in the criticism: "If even SER is turning to the right, what's left for us?" It's hard not to laugh reading this.

On Monday, another far-left digital media outlet went even further. From CTXT, Gerardo Tecé launched a conspiracy theory against PRISA's dissidents: "Readers of El País are currently investigating whether their longtime newspaper might be part of an organized and stable structure designed to obtain financial benefits in exchange for abandoning its political line." This type of theory is already commonplace on that site. In case anyone has forgotten, two years ago CTXT published a manifesto linking journalistic and judicial investigations into Sánchez's wife to a "judicial and media coup." We can now begin to imagine what awaits PRISA for abandoning the fold of a government presided over by a man who cannot stand being contradicted.

We must not forget that for the Spanish left, the right has long since ceased to exist: everything that is not left-wing is simply "far-right." Media outlets like those mentioned have fueled this demonization campaign for years against all those who dare to question some leftist theses, and now they are labeling PRISA as "right-wing," which is the prelude to linking it to the extreme right. It's easy for them: let's remember that Jesús de Polanco began amassing his fortune in the shadow of Francoism with the Santillana Publishing House, and among the founders of El País were Francoist figures. Spanish socialism forgave PRISA has had that "original sin" for decades because of its loyalty to its ideological project, but it will surely now suddenly recover its memory.

All of this is frankly hilarious, why lie? PRISA is now suffering the consequences of a leftist intolerance it helped to fuel, and this is happening simply because this media group is trying to distance itself from the pestilent pile of manure that Spanish socialism has become under Pedro Sánchez. The old leftist inquisitors are now prime candidates to be labeled "fascists." Well, yes: it's laughable. The Spanish left has degenerated into a sect that doesn't tolerate members who want to leave its ranks. Those of us who have been warning about this drift of the Spanish left weren't exaggerating in the slightest. That being said, anyone want some popcorn?

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Image: Grok.