Leire Díez files criminal complaint against Spain’s PP over AI impersonation video

Leire Díez has filed a criminal complaint against Spain’s Popular Party (PP) after it circulated an AI-generated version of her claiming to have hired thugs to get rid of a judge. The former socialist party member wants the video removed as a precautionary measure, alleging that the fabricated confession has damaged her reputation and harmed her family.

The video behind the complaint

The PP published the video on October 21, according to the party post reproduced by ElConstitucional. It used generated portrayals of Díez and several other figures connected to the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party, known as the PSOE.

The piece imitated a PSOE video released that morning. In the original, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez joked about Argentine President Javier Milei’s use of “leftist” as an insult. Sánchez’s formulation was: “If raising pensions is being leftist, I am leftist.” The PP’s version substituted accusations against the people it depicted.

Alongside Díez, the generated video portrayed Sánchez’s wife, Begoña Gómez; former transport minister José Luis Ábalos; former socialist leader Santos Cerdán; and former prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero. These were AI-created representations, not footage of those people making the statements.

The line about hiring thugs was a veiled reference to Judge Beatriz Biedma, according to Demócrata. Biedma handled the case against David Sánchez, the prime minister’s brother. The supposed admission came from Díez’s digital recreation, not from Díez herself.

the facts and claims contained in said publication are absolutely and unequivocally false

Díez’s legal representation, in the filing quoted by Demócrata

A criminal action before the National Court

Díez’s lawyer, Eva Bejarano, submitted the criminal action to Spain’s National Court, the Audiencia Nacional. Demócrata reported the filing on October 23, citing a document accessed by Europa Press. The complaint alleges three offenses; these are accusations brought by Díez’s legal team, not findings against the party:

• Defamation with publicity.
• An offense against moral integrity.
• Digital identity theft.

The filing was addressed to Judge Santiago Pedraz. He is investigating an alleged scheme to interfere with or destabilize judicial proceedings affecting the PSOE, the government and relatives of Pedro Sánchez. According to that investigation, the alleged scheme was directed by Cerdán and coordinated by Díez. That is the existing judicial context in which her lawyer submitted the complaint over the video.

Alleged harm and an urgent removal request

Her legal team says the video received more than 21 million views. That figure is the defense’s claim, not an independently verified audience count. Díez also says she and her daughters had to isolate themselves at home and suffered an anxiety attack. She alleges that she has been subjected to insults and humiliation since the video circulated.

The complaint accuses the PP of knowingly spreading false claims with the intention of humiliating Díez and damaging her dignity. Her lawyers argue that viewers perceive the generated statement as a real confession of a crime, causing continuing harm to her reputation, family life and work. That alleged audience confusion is central to their request for immediate intervention.

Díez seeks provisional removal from every account and digital space owned or controlled by the PP where the video appears. Her request also extends to other people or entities hosting it, rather than only the party’s original publication. Whether the court will order that removal remains unresolved.