Spanish government communication through crisis: duties & obligations in order to guarantee transparency and the right to true information of citizens

Abstract

In times of crisis, governments must take extraordinary measures quickly and urgently. This fact may lead to the limitation of certain rights and freedoms of citizens and, for this reason, the communication of the executive power must be more rigorous, characterized by complying with a series of requirements that allow it to meet both the informational needs of society and the obligations required by the rules of transparency and the right to information. The situation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has made it possible to verify the need that exists within these chaotic and uncertain scenarios, to guarantee transparency and the right of access to public information in order to protect citizens, avoiding the expansion of hoaxes and misinformation, especially in a political and social context where the collaboration of the population is required to manage the crisis. The research carried out goes deep into the obligations that the regulations on the right to information and transparency require from Government and Public Administration even in emergency situations, and into what has been their performance as sources of information and communication during the state of alarm. The goal of this analysis is to check whether Government has guaranteed the right to truthful information for Spaniards and whether it has behaved with respect for the principles of transparency during the management of the crisis.