Leire Díez has filed a complaint against the PP at Spain’s National Court over an AI-generated video targeting the PSOE. She seeks its removal and asks investigators to identify everyone involved in making and distributing it.
In the clip, an AI-generated voice attributed to Leire Díez says she would identify as left-wing if hiring men to remove a judge counted as left-wing. The video puts words in the digitally recreated woman’s mouth, claiming Díez had "hired thugs to get rid of a judge," referring to magistrate Beatriz Biedma. Díez filed her complaint against the PP at the Audiencia Nacional on 23 October, alleging the video falsely links her to a criminal plan.
The complaint, signed by her lawyer Eva Bejarano and directed to investigating judge Santiago Pedraz, says the video uses Díez’s image and voice. It alleges that her personal data was used to manipulate her digital identity and link her to a serious criminal act. Díez accuses the party of public slander and separately alleges an offence against moral integrity. The filing also cites digital identity impersonation.
The PP published the video on 21 October on its website and social media, including X (formerly Twitter), Социальная сеть, TikTok, Социальная сеть and YouTube. The complaint says television channels and news outlets also circulated it. When the complaint was filed, the video had received more than 21 million views in roughly 16 hours, according to the filing.
The dispute centres on an allegation involving judge Beatriz Biedma, who had investigated David Sánchez, the brother of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. On 8 October, Biedma told the court she had been followed and that she had been told former judge Luis Sáenz de Tejada contacted Cintia Rocho, known as Celsa, about physically attacking her. Rocho is linked to an alleged drug-trafficking clan. The allegation comes from Rocho’s account on television; Díez and Sáenz de Tejada deny it. Biedma has also appeared before the Audiencia Nacional as a victim in a separate investigation.
The episode is part of the investigation led by Audiencia Nacional judge Santiago Pedraz into Díez, who is under investigation over an alleged scheme to obstruct judicial inquiries affecting the PSOE, the government and relatives of Pedro Sánchez. Former Socialist leader Santos Cerdán reportedly directed the alleged operation, with Díez coordinating it. Biedma had led inquiries involving the prime minister’s brother. The PP is also a popular accuser in the case against Díez. Her complaint says that role gives the party knowledge of the evidence in the court file, which contains no material making the video’s allegation credible, it argues.
Díez says the video’s spread has directly affected her family. Her complaint says she and her daughters had to isolate themselves at home. It also says she suffered an anxiety attack and is receiving treatment.
The filing asks the court to order the video’s urgent provisional removal from PP-controlled digital accounts and other online spaces. It also asks the court to require the PP to identify those involved in making and distributing it, and to authorize entry into the party’s headquarters to secure evidence. Sources close to Díez said the complaint was filed with Pedraz because the video refers to the subject of his investigation. He must decide whether the Audiencia Nacional has jurisdiction or whether the case should go to another court.
More than half a dozen jurists consulted by EL PAÍS said a criminal case against the video would be difficult to win. They pointed to broad Spanish and European protections for political expression, satire and parody. They also said the small, transparent AI notice and the context made it difficult for viewers to mistake the clip for genuine footage. In the separate Bar España hoax case, prosecutors sought seven and a half years in prison for leading spreaders of online defamation.
