World · 5 August 2026
Spain's Ceuta saw 60,000 migrants after social media campaign
Ongayo via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA-4.0,3.0,2.5,2.0,1.0)
A Spanish court ruling about how migrants who swim into Ceuta should be processed was misinterpreted online as an open invitation. Social media accounts and smuggling networks then spread claims Spain had "opened the way" for sea arrivals, generating a mass movement. Spanish authorities recovered at least 67 bodies after many people drowned attempting the crossing.
Reported by Al Jazeera · How we write briefs