Monday, 10 August 2026, 13:54
First came Instagram posts. Then TikTok videos showed where to swim, and Facebook groups tracked maritime patrols. Within days, thousands of young Moroccans were on the move toward Ceuta, convinced the border into Spain had opened. It had not.
Social media accounts, including an Instagram account called Haraga Ceuta, told followers the border would open. In Morocco, the term haraga is commonly used for young people who try to migrate to Europe without documents. For three friends from Larache, about 150 kilometers away, that message was enough. They joined thousands of others packing buses, trains and taxis to Fnideq, the Moroccan town next to Ceuta.
On TikTok, videos showed routes to go around the breakwater separating Morocco from Ceuta. In Facebook groups like Fnideq Bab Sebta, users shared screenshots of maritime tracking apps and asked where to buy inflatable boats. Some offered wetsuits. Omar Danbor, 17, told the AP he saw online that the border was open and decided to go.
European, Spanish and Moroccan authorities blamed the sudden surge on incorrect information circulating online and on human traffickers. The rush took place in late July, building on the false claim that the border had been opened.
When the crowds reached the coast, pressure centered on a narrow concrete breakwater that marks part of the border. Migrants described people slipping on wet rocks, climbing at the same time and falling into the water. Some disappeared in the chaos. Lahcen Kalouch, a migrant who reached Ceuta, said: "I stepped on the face of a dead man while climbing out. I hope God forgives me and everyone whose body was found."
At least 72 people died on the Spanish side of the border and another 11 on the Moroccan side, according to authorities. Days later, thousands who had reached the enclave began the journey back. Others returned on their own after finding no housing, food or immediate options to stay in Ceuta.
Some migrants linked the rumor to measures announced by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to regularize certain foreigners already living in Spain. Those measures were aimed at people who were in the country before January 1 and mostly had entered legally. On social media, the idea spread that anyone who crossed would be allowed to stay.
Adam Assil, a migrant from Casablanca, said: "Pedro Sánchez is a liar. He told us that if we came, we would get jobs and papers, but they returned us." There is no evidence Sánchez made such a promise.
Another current of misinformation focused on a Spanish Supreme Court ruling issued several weeks earlier. The court decided that migrants who arrive by sea cannot be subject to the same fast-track deportation procedure applied to people intercepted while crossing physical border infrastructure, such as fences. Social media posts claimed the ruling made it impossible for Spain to return anyone who reached its territory by swimming, implying they would be allowed to stay. DW fact check found the claim misleading: the ruling applies only to migrants arriving by sea who have not crossed a border barrier, and it does not grant an automatic right to remain. It also allows the government to install physical barriers at sea, a step Spain has since taken to close the loophole.
One Arabic Facebook post published on July 13 called the ruling "historic." It was one of dozens of similar posts reviewed by DW Fact Check, many using identical or nearly identical wording. Some accounts linked to migration-focused pages on Telegram, including one profile promoting migration opportunities under the slogan "All opportunities for immigration abroad are in your hands." On TikTok, a user said: "...this law that came out in Spain says it is forbidden to send anyone back if they came swimming to Spain, and it is forbidden for the navy to send them back. This is true..." The video presented the ruling as a general prohibition on returning migrants who arrive by sea, omitting that the Supreme Court’s decision involved the legal procedure for carrying out returns, not a blanket ban on deportation. DW Fact Check found that this selective interpretation appeared repeatedly across a large share of the accounts reviewed.
Euronews described how the misleading information moved from TikTok videos to political claims, turning the border rush into a political flashpoint as well as a humanitarian one.
This story was carried by Times of San Diego, which focuses on the San Diego-Tijuana border region. Although the event happened in North Africa, the social media-fueled rush is a reminder of how quickly false border information can move people, a concern familiar to communities along California's border.
Ceuta is one of two Spanish enclaves on Africa's Mediterranean coast and has long been a flashpoint for migration. The surge matches a recurring pattern of mass attempts at Ceuta's fence and breakwater, often driven by smuggling networks or diplomatic tensions.
The Ceuta episode shows the life-or-death consequences of viral misinformation. Dozens of people died and thousands were sent back. The case is a warning to governments and platforms about the power of false narratives on migration.
Spain has signaled concern about a possible new crossing at Ceuta on 15 August, according to Euronews, suggesting the consequences of the misinformation may still be unfolding.
