The European Commission’s digital chief called on Meta and TikTok to "act decisively" to curb disinformation during crises, pointing to discussions held with both platforms on Friday in the wake of the migrant surge into Ceuta last week.
اضافة اعلان
Reports indicated that a wave of online disinformation played a key role in driving tens of thousands of people to cross from Morocco into the neighboring Spanish enclave, fueled by a rapidly spreading rumor online claiming that "the border with Ceuta is open."
Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, stated: "Platforms must act decisively to safeguard the digital space, especially in times of crisis."
She added that "monitoring efforts must be intensified and cooperation with fact-checkers strengthened," noting that the European Union "will follow up on the matter on Monday."
Spain moved quickly to return migrants from Ceuta, announcing Tuesday that the vast majority of the 72,000 individuals who entered the enclave from Morocco on July 30 and 31 had departed, with the exception of 2,000 people.
European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner noted on Tuesday that the crossings were "driven by criminal smuggling networks as well as disinformation campaigns," while pointing out that it remains "too early" to determine who was behind exploiting the situation online—whether human traffickers or a foreign power.
However, he added that the EU "must strengthen its capacity to detect disinformation trends on social media by working hand-in-hand with Europol and all other EU agencies."
An open-source investigation conducted by tech firm GoldenOwl suggested that the migrant influx "was a deliberately orchestrated operation."
AFP
