Meta and TikTok agree to EU fact-checking pact after Ceuta migrant crisis kills about 90
Meta and TikTok have agreed to voluntary fact-checking measures under the EU's Digital Services Act after viral disinformation on their platforms helped drive a rush of over 70,000 migrants from Morocco to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in late July, a crisis that killed about 90 people.
The Ceuta crisis
On July 30, more than 70,000 people attempted to cross the border from Morocco into Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in North Africa, according to Spiegel. The rush killed dozens of people; the New York Times reported about 90 migrant deaths before most of those involved retreated to Morocco. The surge triggered a political dispute over the protection of the EU's external borders.
Numerous migrants reported that videos and messages on platforms like TikTok had suggested the normally heavily guarded border was suddenly open, according to Bayerischer Rundfunk and Die Welt. The false information spread quickly, creating hope that accommodation would be available in Ceuta and onward travel to the Spanish mainland would follow.
EU response and platform cooperation
EU Digital Commissioner Henna Virkkunen announced on X on Monday evening, August 10, that Meta and TikTok had activated crisis protocols and established an ad hoc mechanism for escalation and cooperation with fact-checkers. A Commission spokesperson said on Tuesday that the mechanism connects the platforms with fact-checkers familiar with the local context, who alert them to problematic content as it appears.
The Commission had already gathered representatives of Meta, TikTok, and fact-checking organisations on Friday, August 7, and repeated the exercise on Monday. The Commission, Europol, and the platforms are in daily contact and have increased their coordination, Virkkunen said.
The mechanism operates under the code of conduct against disinformation, a tool provided by the Digital Services Act (DSA) and based on voluntary cooperation, said Commission spokesperson Balazs Ujvari. The platforms have all committed to prohibiting content related to human trafficking, he added. If the Commission deems the current tool insufficient, it stands ready to go further.
- Over 70,000 people attempt to cross from Morocco to Ceuta; about 90 migrants killed
- EU Commission gathers representatives of Meta, TikTok and fact-checking organisations
- Virkkunen announces crisis protocols and fact-checker cooperation on X
- Commission spokesperson details the voluntary mechanism under the DSA code of conduct
- Virkkunen to meet working group on information space integrity to discuss further DSA tools
What the platforms said
A Meta spokesperson told Der Spiegel that the company has a team monitoring the situation in Ceuta in real time and removing content that violates its guidelines, including content offering, mediating, or seeking services in the area of human smuggling. Meta said it uses a crisis policy protocol and has specific guidelines on topics such as human exploitation and incitement to violence, which in recent days led to the deletion of Facebook groups and Instagram accounts.
TikTok said it had mobilised a special taskforce in response to the developing situation in Ceuta, a process it said had proven effective in similar crisis situations.
Conspiracy theories and Spain-Morocco relations
The New York Times reported that the crisis spawned a range of conspiracy theories. Actor Javier Bardem wondered if Israel was involved; former US congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene suggested the Republican Party was behind it; others said Morocco's King Mohammed VI had orchestrated the crisis to pressure Spain. Experts said there is no evidence that any state masterminded the migration.
Pol Morillas, director of the Barcelona Center for International Affairs, said the speculation stems from the complicated relationship between Spain and Morocco. Spain occupied parts of Morocco for much of the 20th century, and many Moroccans still contest Spain's control over its African territories, including Ceuta. The two countries hold conflicting positions on Algeria, Israel, and the Trump administration.
We are seeing the simplification of a very complex reality. This is where all the different theories come in.
On Thursday, August 13, Virkkunen is scheduled to meet the working group on information space integrity, which oversees the application of the DSA in member states, to discuss the possibility of using other tools under the DSA to address the Ceuta-related crisis.
