The Far Right Is Distorting Ceuta
A surge of Moroccan migrants swimming to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta was fueled by misleading social media posts, creating a crisis that was subsequently exploited by far-right politicians to push anti-immigration narratives. The article clarifies that these migrants had no legal path to mainland Europe and were largely returned to Morocco, debunking claims that they were en route to Britain or Germany.
Why it matters
The incident highlights how coordinated disinformation campaigns can trigger real-world humanitarian crises and be weaponized by political actors to manipulate public perception of border security.
Abdel Majid Bziouat / AFP / Getty August 2, 2026, 4:43 PM ET Share Save Mostly young, mostly male Moroccans crawling onto beaches, climbing hills, scaling walls, jumping over fences, surging past police in order to get into Europe: The photographs and videos that emerged from Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in North Africa, on July 29 and 30 looked very much like migrant-terror videos, deliberately designed to be broadcast by the international far right. So closely did this incident resemble the “invasion” that MAGA and its European friends have long said is under way that it was hard not to suspect that it had been orchestrated.
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