Privacy Policy of Maldita.es

Privacy policy in force since March 28, 2020, last updated on October 5, 2026.

At Maldita.es we fight against disinformation relying on our community of malditos and malditas, technology and education. Our principles defend transparency, confidentiality and security. Consequently, below we provide you with all the information related to the processing of personal data that we may collect from visitors to our website and/or users of our services.

At Maldita.es we may collect your personal data in the following cases:

• When you become a maldit@: if you decide to join our community and become a maldit@, you will need to complete a registration form in which we will ask you for certain personal data. When you register, a profile will be created from which you can take part in the different services and ways of collaborating with the Maldita.es community, such as providing leads in La Buloteca or collaborating with us through your superpowers.
  • When you take part in La Buloteca or contribute your superpower: if you take part in La Buloteca, our collaborative verification platform, you can provide leads on open cases, and we will use the data associated with your profile to do so. If you want to collaborate as a source in Maldita.es verifications through our superpowers programme, we may also ask you for information about your profession, knowledge, experience or areas of expertise.
• When you donate to Maldita.es: you can make a donation without registering as a maldit@. To manage the donation, we will ask you for the personal data needed to process the payment and, where applicable, to issue the donation certificate and report the contribution to the Spanish Tax Agency (Agencia Tributaria). To process payments we use external providers, such as Stripe or PayPal, which will process the data needed to carry out the transaction.
• When you subscribe to our newsletters: you can subscribe to our newsletters without registering as a maldit@. To do so, we only need the email address at which you want to receive them.
• Through emails or contact forms: you can contact us through any of the email addresses on our @maldita.es domain, including [email protected] for enquiries about our work and [email protected] for matters related to your personal data and privacy, or through the contact forms available on our website. We will process the data you provide to manage and respond to your request.
• Through the direct WhatsApp service: you can write to our WhatsApp service to report possible disinformation and use other features available through this channel. Your phone number is stored in our systems in pseudonymised form: the number exists in the system, but it is not shown directly to our newsroom nor is it accessible to it in the ordinary use of the service.
• Through e-mails or contact forms: you can contact us by sending an email to [email protected] for enquiries about our journalistic work, to [email protected] for any matter related to your data and privacy, or by using one of the contact forms we make available on our website. We also use other email addresses under our domain, those of each person who works at Maldita.es and also for other purposes; in all cases our privacy policy will be respected.
• Through cookies: our website uses cookies that may collect information about your browsing. You can read our Cookie Policy for more detailed information.

If you become a maldit@, we will use your data to create and manage your profile and to allow you to take part in the different services and ways of collaborating with our community, such as providing leads in La Buloteca or collaborating with us through your superpowers.

If you take part in our superpowers programme, we may use the information you provide about your profession, knowledge, experience or areas of expertise to contact you when we need expert advice in any of those fields.

If you make a donation, we will use your data to manage the contribution, process the payment and, where applicable, issue the donation certificate and comply with our legal and tax obligations. This applies whether you are a maldit@ or make a donation without registering.

If you subscribe to any of our newsletters, we will use your email address to send you the corresponding newsletter.

If you contact us through an email address on our @maldita.es domain or through any of our forms, we will use the data you provide to manage your request, reply to you and, where appropriate, take the necessary actions related to your enquiry.

If you use our WhatsApp service, we will process the data needed to provide you with the features available through this channel, such as receiving and managing your enquiries and sending you debunks or other information you have requested.

If, when registering, you have agreed to receive communications from Maldita.es, we may use your contact details to send you information about our activities, services and news. This consent is optional and is requested separately from registration.

The legal basis that allows us to process your personal data depends on the purpose for which we use it:

• When you become a maldit@ and use the services linked to your profile, such as taking part in La Buloteca, we process your data to manage your registration and provide you with the services you have requested.
• When you take part in our superpowers programme, we process the data you voluntarily provide to manage your participation and to be able to contact you in relation to the areas of knowledge or experience you have indicated.
• When you make a donation, we process the data needed to manage the contribution and the payment. In addition, certain data is processed to comply with our legal and tax obligations, such as reporting donations to the Spanish Tax Agency and, where applicable, issuing the donation certificate.
• When you subscribe to a newsletter, the legal basis is the consent you give us when requesting it. You can withdraw this consent at any time.
• When you contact us by email or through a form, we process the data needed to manage and respond to the request you have made.
• When you use our WhatsApp service, we process the data needed to provide you with the service and the features you have requested through this channel.
• When you agree to receive communications about the activities, services and news of Maldita.es, the legal basis is your consent. This consent is requested separately and is optional, and you can withdraw it at any time.

When the processing is based on your consent, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting the lawfulness of the processing carried out before its withdrawal.

We will keep your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected and, afterwards, for the periods required by applicable law or for as long as legal, contractual or other liabilities may arise.

The specific retention period will depend on:

• the purpose for which the data was collected;
• the legal basis for the processing;
• the applicable legal or contractual obligations; and
• the limitation periods for possible liabilities or claims.

When the processing is based on your consent, you may withdraw it at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of the processing carried out before its withdrawal.

When we no longer need to use your data for the purpose for which it was collected, we may keep it duly blocked for the time necessary to comply with our legal obligations or for the establishment, exercise or defence of claims.

People who make donations to Maldita.es must be of legal age.

Our content and services are not specifically aimed at children. However, some teenagers may take part in our community and use certain Maldita.es services.

Only people aged 14 or over may register and provide us with personal data through our services.

Children under 14 are not expected to register or provide us with personal data. If you are a parent or legal guardian and believe that a child under 14 in your care has provided us with personal data, you can contact us at [email protected] so that we can review the case and take the appropriate measures.

Your personal data will be processed by authorised Maldita.es staff and will not be disclosed to third parties except when necessary to provide you with a service, manage our relationship with you or comply with our legal obligations.

In the case of donations, certain data may be disclosed to the Spanish Tax Agency and to the relevant payment entities or service providers in order to manage the contribution and comply with the applicable legal and tax obligations.

To provide some of our services we rely on external providers that may process personal data on behalf of Maldita.es, for example for data hosting, technology services, communications or payment management. These providers act as data processors, and we maintain the corresponding data protection agreements with them where necessary.

If we process your personal data, you can exercise the following rights:

• Right of access: you can ask us whether we are processing your personal data and, if so, access it.
• Right to rectification: you can ask us to correct any inaccurate data or complete any incomplete data.
• Right to erasure: you can ask us to delete your personal data where applicable.
• Right to restriction of processing: you can ask us to restrict the processing of your data in certain cases. In that event, we will only keep it for the exercise or defence of claims or where another legal basis allows it.
• Right to object: you can object to the processing of your personal data in the cases provided for by law. We will stop processing it unless there are overriding legitimate grounds or it is necessary to keep it for the establishment, exercise or defence of claims.
• Right to data portability: where applicable, you can ask to receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format, or ask us to transmit it directly to another controller where technically feasible.
• Right not to be subject to decisions based solely on automated processing, including profiling, where they produce legal effects concerning you or similarly significantly affect you.

When the processing of your data is based on your consent, you can withdraw it at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of the processing carried out before its withdrawal.

To exercise any of these rights, you can write to us at [email protected] or to the postal address indicated in section 1 of this Privacy Policy.

If you believe that we have not properly handled your rights, you can file a complaint with the competent data protection authority. In Spain, you can contact the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD).