Spanish advertisement angers Dominican Republic

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MADRID: Spain’s opposition Popular Party (PP) has removed an AI-generated attack video, dubbed “Corruption Island”, depicting a bare-chested Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez following complaints from the Dominican Republic, where it was artificially set.

The spot also features the premier’s wife, Begona Gomez, former transport minister Jose Luis Abalos and other figures with links to Sanchez’s Socialist party who are facing graft allegations.

All appear in swimwear on an idyllic beach in the video, which the right-wing PP has now removed from its account on social media platform X.

The clip mimics the opening sequence of a Spanish edition of popular reality TV show, Temptation Island, which is shot in the Dominican Republic.

It features a map of the Caribbean island nation and its flag along with the words “lust”, “ambition” and “lies”. The PP apologised and removed the video late on Thursday after the Dominican Republic’s foreign ministry “strongly rejected” what it called a “malicious and incomprehensible attack”.

Published in Dawn, March 8th, 2025

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