3 weeks ago
Meta and TikTok agree to fact-check Spain border crossing content
Two big social media companies, Meta and TikTok, have promised to check posts about crossing into Spain more carefully.
This happened after a huge wave of people tried to enter a Spanish city called Ceuta.
More than 70,000 people rushed into Ceuta on one day, and sadly nearly 100 people died.
Some people shared videos that made crossing seem safe, and those videos encouraged others to try it.
The companies will now work with fact-checkers, whose job is to find out if information is true.
European Union leader Henna Virkkunen announced the plan in a post on X. The plan is meant to stop criminal networks from tricking people with false information.
Europol and the European Commission are also talking with the companies every day.
Ceuta is one of the only places in Europe that touches Africa, so many migrants try to cross there.
Because of the deal, fake and dangerous videos should be caught before they lead to more tragedies.
Meta and TikTok agreed with the European Union to set up an 'ad-hoc escalation and cooperation mechanism with fact-checkers' as part of crisis protocols.
EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen announced the agreement in a post on X late on Monday, saying it aims to stop criminal networks from enticing migrants with false information.
More than 70,000 would-be migrants flooded into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in a mass rush on July 30 that left nearly 100 dead.
Viral videos, including some posted by a Spanish news outlet intended to highlight the burden of migration pressures, encouraged would-be migrants to attempt crossings.
The European Commission and Europol are discussing the situation with both companies every day, and Virkkunen spoke with Spain's digital economy minister Oscar Lopez about preventing deaths.
- Who
- EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen, Meta, TikTok, Spain's digital economy minister Oscar Lopez, the European Commission and Europol
- What
- Meta and TikTok agreed with the EU to set up an ad-hoc escalation and cooperation mechanism with fact-checkers to verify content on border crossings into Spain.
- Where
- Brussels, European Union, concerning the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, which borders Morocco.
- When
- Announced in a post on X late on Monday; follows the mass rush into Ceuta on July 30.
- Why
- To prevent criminal networks from enticing potential migrants to attempt dangerous crossings with false information, which has led to tragic deaths.
Key facts
- Companies involved
- Meta and TikTok
- Mechanism
- Ad-hoc escalation and cooperation mechanism with fact-checkers
- Announced by
- EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen in a post on X
- Ceuta mass rush
- July 30 - more than 70,000 would-be migrants entered
- Deaths
- Nearly 100
- Goal
- Prevent criminal networks from enticing migrants to cross with false information
- Officials involved
- Henna Virkkunen (EU) and Oscar Lopez (Spain's minister for digital economy)
- Context
- Ceuta and Melilla have the EU's only land borders with Africa
Sources
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