I3 Ventures case

thumb|229x229px|FC Barcelona president [[Josep Maria Bartomeu in 2014]] The I3 Ventures case, also known as Barçagate or Bartogate, was an alleged defamation campaign of FC Barcelona on social media uncovered on 17 February 2020 by journalists Adrià Soldevila and Sergi Escudero of the program Què T'hi Jugues of Cadena SER. The alleged defamation campaign involved hiring a company called I3Ventures.sl to create states of opinion on social media, through dozens of "unofficial" accounts of the club that would be dedicated to protecting the image of Josep Maria Bartomeu (president of the club at that time) who is accused of rigging football matches for FC Barcelona and at the same time also attacking people from different areas of the Barça environment. The alleged targets of the defamation campaign included players like Lionel Messi or Gerard Piqué, former players such as Xavi, Carles Puyol and Pep Guardiola, and also local figures such as Víctor Font (pre-candidate for the presidency of the club), Joan Laporta, Jaume Roures, as well as profiles of pro-independence organizations and political figures such as Quim Torra and Carles Puigdemont, Òmnium Cultural, the Assemblea Nacional Catalana, and the Democratic Tsunami.

Initially, Barça's board of directors denied hiring I3 Ventures for any social media campaigns aimed at enhancing the board's image or targeting other profiles. On the day the case was published, club president Bartomeu announced the termination of the contract with I3 Ventures. He acknowledged that the contract, in place since 2017, was intended to monitor information published about the club on social media.