How online rumours triggered frantic migrant rush to Spain’s Ceuta enclave

FNIDEQ, Morocco: It started with Instagram posts that suggested Spain’s border with Morocco was opening up. Then came Facebook users tracking coast guard patrols and TikTok videos showing where to swim. After many shares and comments, thousands of Moroccans became convinced that Europe was suddenly within reach. Within hours, young people began heading toward the border with the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in North Africa. Packed buses rolled into the neighbouring Moroccan city of Fnideq. Regional trains filled up. Taxis did too. By the time authorities reacted, an estimated 60,000 people had reached Ceuta in just a few days, the largest migration surge between Morocco and Spain in years. More than 80 migrants died on both sides of the border, including some who drowned and others who were killed in a stampede, authorities said. Nearly all of the surviving migrants soon returned, but the fallout from last week’s events will linger. In the northern Moroccan city of Larache, about 93 miles (150 kilometers) from Ceuta, three friends watched a video posted by an Instagram account called Haraga Ceuta claiming the border would be open. Haraga refers in Moroccan dialect to young migrants who destroy their identification papers and try crossing illegally into Europe. Migrants who crossed into Spain are escorted by Spanish soldiers, not pictured, toward the Spanish-Moroccan border for their return to Morocco from the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. (AP) The post convinced Anas Amrani, Yahya Harak and Ismail Atik that it was worth risking the journey. For migrants hoping to reach Spanish territory, the most common route begins in Fnideq, where many attempt the roughly 3-mile (5-kilometre) swim around the border breakwater. Others leave from the nearby village of Belyounech. Detailed guidelines One TikTok video mapped the exact route swimmers should follow. On Facebook groups such as Fnideq Bab Sebta, users shared screenshots from vessel-tracking platforms to identify moments when coast guard patrols appeared lighter. Some sought advice on using inflatable boats. Others advertised wetsuits for sale. "I saw online that the border was open, and I decided to go,” said 17-year-old Omar Danbor from Fnideq, walking back exhausted along the coast. It's unclear who was behind the claims that the border was open or who operated many of the social media accounts, several of which were deleted soon after the crossings. The Associated Press contacted several accounts but received no response. As migrants reached the shores of Ceuta, mass chaos erupted at a narrow concrete breakwater where many tried to climb onto land. According to multiple migrants interviewed by AP, people rushed to scramble over the slick rocks at the same time, pushing and climbing over one another. Several said they saw people knocked back into the water and forced beneath others, leaving them unable to resurface as migrants sought to reach land. "I stepped on the face of a dead man while I was climbing out. I hope God forgives me and all those whose bodies were found,” said Lahcen Kalouch, a Moroccan migrant who reached Ceuta before returning home distraught. A 12-year-old unaccompanied minor who crossed into Spain cries while being escorted by a Spanish soldier to the Spain-Morocco border from the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, Monday, Aug. 3, 2026. The forced deportation of the unaccompanied minor was stopped by a high-ranking official a few meters before the child reached the border after residents and journalists said the migrant was a minor. (AP) At least 72 people died on the Spanish side of the border. Another 11 died on the Moroccan side. Tens of thousands of migrants have since returned to Morocco, either after being expelled or after leaving by choice because of a lack of shelter, food and water in Ceuta. Lack of awareness Some migrants misunderstood recent legal developments in Spain, including Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s immigration regularisation measures and a court ruling limiting authorities’ ability to immediately return migrants who swim into Ceuta. Sanchez’s recent efforts to regularise migration were meant only for people already living in Spain prior to Jan. 1, the majority of whom hail from Latin America and entered Spain legally but overstayed their visas. But some in Morocco misinterpreted his policy, believing they would be allowed to stay. That belief spread online. "Pedro Sánchez is a liar. He told us if we came, we would get jobs and papers, but they sent us back,” said Adam Assil, a migrant from Casablanca, even though Sánchez never made such a promise. While attempts to reach Ceuta are common, migration activists said this episode was different because of the way rumours snowballed online, encouraging thousands of people to head toward the enclave at the same time instead of in smaller, scattered groups. Moroccan authorities said the migration wave was not spontaneous. The Interior Ministry blamed the "exploitation