Spain’s prime minister blames networks linked to Russia and Israel for spreading fake news about Ceuta migration crisis

The investigation into what caused the migration crisis in Ceuta is still underway, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said on Cadena Ser radio, but social media has already been flooded with fake news and disinformation.

Sánchez said the false claims began circulating after Spain’s Supreme Court ruled that migrants who swam across the border could not be summarily expelled. He said the disinformation spread through networks of accounts “linked to both Russia and Israel, as well as to the far-right international, which always uses the topic of migration to attack not only Spain but also Europe.”

“The reality we’re facing doesn’t mean that a state actor is necessarily behind this. Unfortunately, we don’t have a complete picture of what happened, we’re continuing our investigation, but the government has to rely on verified facts,” the Spanish prime minister said.

Spain’s Supreme Court ruled in early July that migrants detained while trying to swim to Ceuta or Melilla, Spanish exclaves in North Africa, could not be summarily returned. Thousands of migrants entered Ceuta illegally over the following two weeks, and several dozen people died attempting the crossing. Italy threatened to suspend the Schengen Agreement over the crisis, and Spain responded by introducing border controls for travelers arriving from Italy by air and sea.