"We Now Call It 'Fake News', But Hoaxes Have Always Been Part of Journalism"

In a rapidly changing world, 'Anatomía de…' focuses on reconstructing those media moments that impacted us as a society. "We always seek topics that make us reflect on our past to understand our present," says journalist Mamen Mendizábal (Madrid, 49), presenter of the La Sexta programme, which kicks off a new season this Sunday (9:30 pm) with producer Josep María Mainat and the plan his ex-wife devised to murder him.

–Did it take much to convince Mainat to share his story?

–I must thank Mainat for the trust he placed in us. For someone to open up in such a way, sharing intimate details and recalling an attempted murder by his own wife… It was important for him that there was a verdict, and we waited for that. Mainat is one of Spain's leading television producers, behind hugely successful formats, and therefore has many well-known acquaintances who could have done this programme, yet he trusted us. He wanted us to tell his story but did not want his testimony mixed with others. We have created a 'true crime' of everything that happened that night, and after reconstructing the events, we have an interview with Mainat, where he shares his own version of what happened, speaking from the heart. He is a man who, at least outwardly, holds no grudge and can separate the woman he married and lived with for ten years from the one who tried to kill him.

–The new season of 'Anatomía de…' covers perhaps lighter topics. How are the meetings to choose them?

–We always look for topics that spark interest, define us as a society, and make us reflect on our past to understand our present. We aim for a variety of topics, some that delve into the depths of our society and others that entertain and amuse us. The second programme will be much more fun as we recount how a prank made its way to represent us at Eurovision. The story of Rodolfo Chikilicuatre, which originated on Buenafuente's show on La Sexta and found its way into the festival by exploiting the loopholes in TVE's system.

–You also focus on one of the great hoaxes of recent history, the death of Miguel Bosé from AIDS.

–We now call it 'fake news', but hoaxes and lies have always been part of journalism. In the 90s, Miguel Bosé was declared dead on a radio station, with date, time, place, and everything perfectly detailed, but rumours of him dying, being dead, or having AIDS had been following him for a decade. There was an agenda to discredit him and a vendetta against him. It reflects what we were as a society. In the new season, we will also focus, now that there is a debate about increased defence spending with the threat from Russia, on the propaganda operation where Marta Sánchez went to sing to the troops in the first Gulf War. It was the first televised war in our history, and there was significant social criticism at the time because the soldiers sent were not professional military but young men doing their compulsory military service. There was a lot of protest in the streets, and to reassure mothers and fathers, this operation was set up.

–Do you think anything was learned after such a damaging hoax against Bosé?

–I think we are very similar, but technology has worsened the spread of hoaxes. Hoaxes have always existed with a clear objective: to target someone, discredit, sow chaos and lies, almost always with the intent to harm. It used to be done with landline phones, but now technology enables mass dissemination. You even receive it on your mobile, and because it aligns with your beliefs, it seems full of truth, when in fact, it is composed of lies.

–Is there any way to legislate to end hoaxes?

–The government of Pedro Sánchez has attempted to legislate, but it is difficult. I believe the line between freedom of expression and government control is very thin and delicate. It is not easy to articulate a way to set limits on freedom of expression. The limits lie in judged facts.

–What current topic would work in 'Anatomía de...'?

–For us to do an 'Anatomía de...', time must pass because many of the key elements need to be resolved. The topic of the dana is very recent, or the blackout, but they are excellent raw material for our programme. The dana reminds me of the episode we did on the disaster of the flood at the Biescas campsite, also a sudden meteorological event, but with an unknown political management behind it; a case that took almost more than a decade to be judged.