The viral videos that fueled migrants to swim to Spain’s Ceuta

CEUTA, Spain – Last week's surge of migrants into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta began with only a small number of people before rapidly growing into a mass movement fueled by viral social media videos and misinformation about Spain's immigration policies.

Encouraged by widely shared online posts, what started as a few dozen young migrants quickly escalated into tens of thousands attempting to swim into Ceuta by last Thursday. According to official figures, more than 80 people died by drowning or in a stampede during the rush.

The migration surge followed a ruling issued by Spain's Supreme Court three weeks earlier, stating that migrants intercepted at sea could not be immediately pushed back at the borders of Spain's North African enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla. Legal experts clarified that the ruling does not prevent authorities from returning migrants through other legal procedures.

As misleading interpretations of the ruling spread on social media, many people falsely believed that anyone who reached Ceuta, whether by land or sea, would be allowed to remain in Spain.

Several social media posts also incorrectly claimed that Spain's migrant regularization program would end on July 30, prompting many to believe they needed to reach the country before the deadline. In reality, the application period had already closed on June 30, and the Spanish government did not extend it.

Spanish and Moroccan authorities accused human trafficking networks of exploiting the misinformation circulating online to encourage migrants to make the dangerous journey.

Local news outlet El Faro de Ceuta also unintentionally contributed to the surge after publishing videos showing newly arrived migrants smiling and celebrating in Ceuta. According to migrants interviewed by Reuters, the footage encouraged many others to attempt the crossing.

On July 28, another report by the outlet featuring two young women who had successfully reached Ceuta gained widespread attention in Morocco. The following day, influencers with large social media followings posted videos of themselves swimming toward the enclave, further fueling the movement.

Among them was Moroccan dog groomer Mounim Belhaj, who said he decided to make the trip after seeing reports that migrants were being accommodated at Ceuta's reception center.

"Spanish media were showing good treatment of migrants arriving in Spain and that encouraged us a lot to go there," Belhaj said.

Authorities also identified misleading videos falsely claiming to show successful crossings into Ceuta, although some had actually been filmed elsewhere in Morocco.

Spanish authorities said more than 70,000 people entered Ceuta irregularly during the peak of the influx. Security analysts also reported that public WhatsApp groups shared information about routes into the enclave and urged members to act quickly, although Reuters could not independently verify the groups before they were deleted.

As conditions in Ceuta deteriorated, many migrants returned voluntarily because of food shortages and difficult living conditions. However, thousands remained stranded, including sub-Saharan Africans and unaccompanied minors who cannot be deported under current regulations.

"We made a mistake in going there," Belhaj said. "There was only hunger." -Additional reporting by Rachael Kennedy, Nahla Ibrahim, Corina Pons, Stephanie Burnett and Vinaya K; Writing by Alexander Dziadosz; Editing by Andrei Khalip/Reuters