The European Commission (EC) held talks with both platforms on Friday following last week’s influx of migrants in Ceuta.
It is believed that the wave of disinformation on social networks greatly contributed to tens of thousands of men, women, and children rushing into Spanish territory in North Africa – a rumor spread on social networks that the Ceuta border was open.
“Platforms must act decisively while maintaining the integrity of the digital space, especially in crisis situations,” said European Commissioner Henna Virkkunen, responsible for technological sovereignty, security, and democracy.
“Monitoring must increase, cooperation with fact-checkers must be strengthened,” said H. Virkkunen, adding that the EU “will take further action on Monday.”
Spain quickly began sending migrants out of Ceuta and on Tuesday reported that of the 72,000 people who entered the enclave from Morocco on July 30–31, 70,000 were returned. Spanish officials also indicate that 80 people trying to enter Ceuta died during the migrant influx.
Right-wing voices used the incident as proof that Europe does not control immigration. This sparked a diplomatic dispute between Spain and Italy, which takes a hard line on migration.
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EU migration chief Magnus Brunner called the Ceuta episode a test of the bloc’s border security and resilience to disinformation on Tuesday.
Migrants were “incited by criminal smuggling networks and disinformation,” said M. Brunner. According to him, it is still too early to say who is behind turning this situation into an “online tool” – whether smugglers or a foreign state, such as Russia.
However, he warned that the EU “must strengthen its capacity to track disinformation trends on social networks, working together with Europol and all other EU agencies.”
A study by the technology company Golden Owl showed that it can be stated “with a high degree of certainty” that the migrant influx “was a deliberately organized operation.”
For the news agency AFP, as well as other media outlets, some platforms (“Meta,” “Google,” “TikTok”) pay for work combating disinformation.
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