Convoy of the arrival of Felipe VI of Spain in Paiporta

“The king’s escort arriving in Valencia is taking up the resources that Valencians need, just so they can appear in the photo with the mud behind them.” Juan Alonso Jimenez on Facebook, 3 Nov. 2024 

Context

Fact

2024. At least 235 deaths, and extensive material damage that has yet to be fully quantified are the most severe consequences of the passage of the DANA (Isolated Depression at High Levels) through the Valencian Community and Castilla-La Mancha on October 28 to November 15. The disaster and the ensuing chaos, particularly centered in the province of Valencia, gave rise to a significant amount of misinformation that spread mainly through social media. Dozens of messages went viral on Sunday, November 3, with hundreds of thousands of interactions claiming that the image of a convoy with around forty police vehicles entering a town in Valencia corresponded to a protection detail for Felipe VI. The messages were triggered by the official visit of the King and Queen of Spain to Paiporta, one of the towns most affected by the floods caused by the DANA on Tuesday, October 29. Some of these posts insinuated that the presence of these vehicles had "prevented" thousands of volunteers from accessing the disaster's ground zero.  
During the DANA, a natural disaster caused by a cold drop that began on October 29, 2024, in eastern Spain—particularly affecting Valencia—a video went viral showing a long line of police cars. The voiceover accompanying the footage alleged that these vehicles were part of the security detail for King Felipe VI of Spain. The video quickly spread across social media, with many users sharing it along with additional images or comments reinforcing this claim. 

Fact-checking organizations like Verificat, Maldita and RTV have confirmed that this image is out of context. The video, in fact, dates back to November 3rd and shows a shift change of Madrid Municipal Police officers who are helping in Valencia. In the images that show the visit of the royals to the municipality of Paiporta, no officers from the Madrid police are visible, as they do not have any responsibilities regarding the protection of the Royal Household. As Maldita explains, Kremlin-controlled or sympathetic media widely distributed the video in Spanish, Russian, and Arabic. It has also circulated in other countries such as Italy, France, and Greece, at times claiming it depicts the current president, Pedro Sánchez's escort. 

Manipulation

The line of cars shown in the images corresponds to a unit of the Madrid Municipal Police, mobilized on Saturday, November 2, to the metropolitan area of Valencia. The video captures the arrival of the convoy in the town of La Torre, one of the locations where the Madrid officers were working on November 3. We first saw the content on social media at 9:28 AM on Sunday, November 3. In the images illustrating the visit of the King and Queen to the municipality of Paiporta, there is no sign of any officers from the Madrid police force, which, in any case, does not have jurisdiction over the protection of the Royal Family.  

Teaching part

Teaching objective: To deduce the reasons for misinformation from the analysis of the following photographic source within a social media post.  

Knowledge 1: Spread narrative in the post and verification 

It creates confusion, shifts attention away from the actual crisis and recovery efforts, and undermines trust in authorities during times when clear communication is most crucial. In this case, misinformation about the royal visit could distract people from the real issues of the DANA's impact and the ongoing recovery process, while also feeding into larger political or social divisions. 

Knowledge 2: Photographic source analysis within a social media post + specify if the analysis is from a photo taken out of context, manipulated or using IA. 

False context.  

Remember: 

Digital sources are pieces of online content that help us understand and verify events. Just like historical sources, they can be classified based on their connection to reality: 

• Primary sources: original images or videos captured at the time of an event, such as a photo taken on a smartphone, live-stream footage, or an unedited security camera recording. 

• Secondary sources: images or videos that have been edited, modified, or republished. These could be news articles that crop or change a photo, AI-enhanced versions of real images, or deepfakes that alter someone’s appearance. 

• Synthetic sources: images or videos that are completely created by artificial intelligence or digital editing with no connection to real events. These include AI-generated people, fake landscapes, or entirely fictional news images. 

When analysing images on social media, we must remember that they don’t exist in isolation—they come with captions, hashtags, likes, and shares that influence how we interpret them. The same image can be framed in different ways to change its meaning, sometimes to mislead or spread false information. That’s why it’s important to check not just the image itself, but also its context, who shared it, and how it’s being used before trusting it. 

Evaluation criteria: Deduce the reasons for misinformation by analysing the image and its context within the social media post. 

Instructions for the activity

1. Context: Now that you have understood the connection between disinformation and the way images are used to shape narratives, consider the context of the digital image: Where was it published? What event or situation does it claim to represent? Who are the key figures or elements in the image? Starting point. 

2. Start of activity: Observe the image individually, and once analyzed, answer the questions to identify key aspects related to its source, authenticity, and use. Focus on both the image itself and how it is presented within its digital environment. Initial phase. 

The video captures the arrival of the convoy in the town of La Torre, one of the locations where the Madrid officers were working on November 3. 

In order to answer some of the following questions, you will have to do a reverse image search.  

Development of activity. Once you have observed this image, fill in the second part of the worksheet with your group, which allows you to understand a little about the context of it. Development Phase  

Activity development. Now try to deduce with all the information you have collected so far to understand how and why this source has been manipulated. Final phase  

Closing. Organize your speech based on evidence collected to argue your opinion in relation to what you have learned.  

Instruction for the teacher
The video captures the arrival of the convoy in the town of La Torre, one of the locations where the Madrid officers were working on November 3. 

Solution

Explanation - the fact check process

The convoy belongs to the Municipal Police of Madrid. The Municipal Police of Madrid mobilized 178 officers in 43 police vehicles, along with 24 SAMUR (civil protection) personnel in six other vehicles, to the Valencian Community on Saturday, November 2, as shared on their Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) profiles. The operation arrived in the province of Valencia on the night of Saturday, according to several social media posts (1, 2, 3) and an article from the local outlet Levante. On Sunday morning, the Madrid officers entered the La Torre district, which belongs to the city of Valencia, as shown in the viral image we are verifying. Through Google Street View, it can be confirmed that the image was taken from a building and shows a line of cars at the entrance to the town. Moreover, the detail of the vehicles in the image shows that they are BMW models with white hoods and a shield drawn on top, which matches the official cars of the Municipal Police of Madrid. The Local Police of Valencia shared images of the Madrid officers working in La Torre on X, in a post announcing the start of the "collaboration between the police of Valencia and Madrid in the municipalities most affected by the DANA." In addition to the district, the personnel also moved to Horta Sud and other municipalities in the metropolitan area of Valencia, according to local sources such as the Periòdic and Levante. 

Among these municipalities where the Madrid local police worked is Paiporta? We have found no evidence of their presence in the town visited by the kings, where they were confronted by hundreds of people, alongside Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Valencian President Carlos Mazón, who were also present. A Verificat analysis of various images distributed by the Agence France-Presse (AFP) and dozens of videos posted on X has not revealed the presence of any Madrid municipal officers. 

Among the security forces present during King Felipe VI's visit to Paiporta, Verificat identified members of the Army, officers from the National Police, the Civil Guard, the Local Police, as well as Civil Protection officers. In the case of municipal forces, in addition to local police from Valencia, there were also representatives from the Ondara (Valencia) police and municipalities in Catalonia, such as Salou (Tarragona). We did not detect any officers from the Municipal Police of Madrid. 

Original photograph: https://www.verificat.cat/que-en-sabem-de-la-imatge-que-suposadament-mostra-larribada-dun-comboi-de-felip-vi/