Iberian Blackout Polling: Spanish and UK Exposure to Big Tech-Spread Conspiracy Theories

The report finds that while a majority of respondents in Spain and the UK acknowledge human-caused climate change, a significant portion (70% in Spain and 60% in the UK) believed at least one false narrative regarding the causes of the April 2025 Iberian blackout. The most prevalent disinformation was that the blackout resulted from an 'over-reliance on renewable energy', a belief particularly strong among far-right voters. General attitudes toward energy sources are divided, with about half of respondents wrongly believing that net zero policies increase energy dependence or that abandoning oil and gas would cause extreme hardship for the poor. Despite this, over 70% of respondents in both countries believe preventing climate disinformation is necessary to protect freedom of speech. There is broad support for measures such as legally obligating social media companies to stop spreading misleading climate information, banning fossil fuel advertising, and increasing support for fact-checking organizations.

• A high percentage of respondents in both Spain and the UK believed false narratives about the causes of the April 28, 2025, Iberian blackout, with 70% in Spain and 60% in the UK accepting at least one.
• The most widely believed false cause for the blackout was the power grid's over-reliance on renewable energy, especially among far-right voters; 50% of Vox voters and 38% of Reform UK voters held this belief.
• While 88% of Spanish and 82% of UK respondents attribute climate change to human causes, climate denialism is most prevalent among voters of far-right parties, specifically Vox in Spain and Reform UK in the UK.
• Public perception of energy sources is marked by significant misperceptions: approximately half of respondents in both countries believe net zero policies increase energy dependence, and about 47-48% believe abandoning oil and gas would condemn poor people to hardship.
• There is strong public consensus (over 70% in both countries) that preventing the spread of climate disinformation is essential for maintaining informed public discourse and protecting freedom of speech.
• A majority of respondents support specific regulatory and governmental interventions to combat disinformation, including legal obligations for social media companies to stop misleading content, banning fossil fuel advertising, and funding fact-checkers.

APA

Climate Action Against Disinformation (2025). Iberian Blackout Polling: Spanish and UK Exposure to Big Tech-Spread Conspiracy Theories. https://caad.info/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Iberian-Blackout-Polling-in-Spain-and-UK.pdf

Chicago

Climate Action Against Disinformation. Iberian Blackout Polling: Spanish and UK Exposure to Big Tech-Spread Conspiracy Theories. 2025. https://caad.info/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Iberian-Blackout-Polling-in-Spain-and-UK.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Action Against Disinformation |title=Iberian Blackout Polling: Spanish and UK Exposure to Big Tech-Spread Conspiracy Theories |date=15 July 2025 |url=https://caad.info/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Iberian-Blackout-Polling-in-Spain-and-UK.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climateactionagainstdisinformation2025iberian, author = {{Climate Action Against Disinformation}}, title = {{Iberian Blackout Polling: Spanish and UK Exposure to Big Tech-Spread Conspiracy Theories}}, institution = {Climate Action Against Disinformation}, year = {2025}, month = jul, url = {https://caad.info/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Iberian-Blackout-Polling-in-Spain-and-UK.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }