Junts per Catalunya (Junts)

EU RANK: 149 (Tier 4: Low Performance)

Junts per Catalunya is a centre‑right to liberal‑conservative Catalan pro‑independence party, built around the leadership of Carles Puigdemont and a network of former convergent nationalists. It plays a pivotal role in Catalan and Spanish politics via parliamentary leverage in both Barcelona and Madrid.

Disinformation and alternative media

Junts operates through Catalan public broadcaster CCMA, pro‑independence newspapers and digital outlets, and highly mobilised social‑media networks. Research on 2020–2025 media links describes a polarised Catalan information sphere where some pro‑independence digital platforms sympathetic to Junts circulate partisan narratives and occasionally unverified or misleading claims about the Spanish state and judiciary, though large, centrally run fake‑news factories are more characteristic of the Spanish far right. Disinformation and alternative‑media DMI risk is moderate.

Foreign influence and external alignments

Junts is pro‑EU and frames Catalan independence as a European project, seeking support in EU institutions and courts, while criticising NATO and Spanish security policies when they affect the Catalan cause. Funding studies show Junts and its predecessors financed mainly through public subsidies, membership fees and domestic donations; political accusations about external backing during the independence process have not crystallised into court‑proven hostile foreign‑state financing. Foreign‑influence DMI risk is low to moderate (coded low).

Media capture, advertising and public service media

Where Junts has controlled or co‑controlled Catalan governments and key ministries, it has exercised significant influence over CCMA governance, senior appointments and regional institutional advertising, contributing alongside ERC to perceptions of politicisation in Catalan public media. Regional public‑sector communication and advertising have at times favoured outlets aligned with or accommodating toward pro‑independence narratives associated with Junts, even though national private conglomerates remain beyond its structural control. Media‑capture, advertising and PSB‑control DMI risk is high at the Catalan regional level.

Corruption, litigation and institutional integrity

Junts inherits the legacy of Convergència/CDC and PDeCAT, which were central to major Catalan corruption cases such as the “3%” illegal‑commissions affair and other procurement scandals, with convictions against party structures and businessmen. In addition, leaders linked to Junts have faced charges related to the organisation and financing of the 2017 independence referendum and subsequent actions, feeding debates over both misuse of public funds and defiance of constitutional rulings. Corruption and institutional‑integrity DMI risk is high.

Press freedom, harassment and treatment of media

Junts‑linked governments have not run systematic SLAPP‑style campaigns against journalists, but critics and some reporters point to pressure on CCMA, preferential treatment for friendly outlets, and tensions with unionist media. Journalists covering corruption cases or offering critical views on the independence process can face intense online harassment from pro‑independence supporter networks, though this is more decentralised mobilisation than centrally directed repression. Press‑freedom and harassment DMI risk is moderate to high (coded high given structural influence over CCMA).

Dimension	Risk level	Short justification
Disinformation & alternative media	Moderate	Strong role in a polarised pro‑independence media ecosystem; some sympathetic platforms circulate unverified or biased narratives.
Foreign influence & external alignments	Low	Pro‑EU framing of independence; financed by domestic subsidies and donors, with no court‑proven hostile‑state funding.
Media capture & advertising / PSB control	High	Long influence over CCMA and Catalan institutional advertising, contributing to politicisation and pro‑government bias.
Corruption & institutional integrity risk	High	Successor to parties implicated in the “3%” and other corruption cases, plus referendum‑related misuse‑of‑funds proceedings.
Press freedom & harassment of media	High	Structural influence on CCMA and strong supporter backlash against critical journalists, affecting pluralism.