Meta, TikTok agree to boost fact-checking after Ceuta migrant rush: EU

Experts say social media disinformation helped drive the deadly rush of 72,000 migrants from Morocco into Spain's north African territory late last month -- with for instance a rumour that "the Ceuta border is open" spreading like wildfire online.

The European Commission said it had increased coordination with Meta and TikTok alongside the European police force Europol, and set up a mechanism helping the platforms to better cooperate with local fact-checkers.

"The platforms confirmed that they activated their crisis protocols and... it was decided that an ad-hoc escalation and cooperation mechanism would be put in place," a spokesman for the bloc's executive, Balazs Ujvari, told reporters.

"For now, we think that this is an effective tool. But of course, if needed, we are ready to go further," he added.

The mechanism can be launched in times of crisis under the EU's online content rules known as the Digital Services Act (DSA), and was done so on a voluntary basis "under the coordination of the Commission," Ujvari said.

It aims to help "platforms get better information from the fact-checkers" tasked with flagging "harmful disinformation related to, for example, a potential new mass crossing of the border," he said.

The move came after the EU held talks with Meta and TikTok Friday and Monday, and the spokesman said Brussels remained in contact with the platforms.

AFP is among a number of third-party media outlets paid by some online platforms including Meta for work to tackle disinformation, and is one of the group's fact-checking partners in Spain.

A Meta spokesperson said a team was "monitoring the situation in Ceuta in real time and removing content that violates our policies - including content that offers to provide, facilitate or seek human smuggling services".

TikTok also underlined it has strict rules against content that encourages or enables human smuggling and illegal border crossings.

TikTok said it was working with journalism and fact-checking organisation Newtral in Spain and MapExpress in Morocco, pushing them to be vigilant when looking at content during any rapidly-evolving situation.