EU Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy Henna Virkkunen has called on social media giants to exercise closer monitoring of their platforms for misinformation, especially "during crisis situations."

Virkkunen was referring to last week's Ceuta border crisis, which European, Spanish and Moroccan authorities say was exacerbated by the spread of misinformation on social media, including TikTok, Telegram and Meta platforms.

Commissioner Virkkunen addressed the disinformation on social media, calling for greater EU monitoring of platforms during crisis situations.

"Platforms must act decisively in keeping the integrity of the digital space, in particular during crisis situations," she wrote on X.

"Monitoring must increase, cooperation with fact-checkers to be strengthened," Virkkunen wrote after a Friday meeting with representatives from TikTok and Meta — which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

Social media increasingly central to 'political debate'

A number of the estimated 72,000 people who stormed Ceuta from Morocco said they were attracted by false promises disseminated on social media and that they were lied to about the situation.

Spain and Morocco have also exchanged blame, with authorities in Rabat blaming a Spanish Supreme Court ruling that it says was exploited by human traffickers and misrepresented on social media.

Madrid says Morocco should have done a better job at stopping the tens of thousands of migrants who crossed the border.

In the end, Spanish authorities say 80 people were killed during the course of events.

Moroccan authorities reported that 11 people died on their side of the border.

Rights groups estimate the total number of dead at more than 140.

The situation in Ceuta and the circumstances surrounding it have added more fuel to Europe's ongoing political fight over issues related to immigration and security.

Did misinformation on social media cause the Ceuta crisis?

In Ceuta, migrants pointed to social media messages and videos announcing that the EU border at Ceuta was suddenly open.

Other posts informed people looking to get to the EU that accommodations would be available once they got to the Spanish territory and that they would be bused to the Spanish mainland from there. 

Last week, EU member states convened an emergency meeting at which representatives mulled early-warning systems and social media monitoring as potential levers for improving the bloc's shared assessment capabilities in emerging situations.

Virkkunen said the EU would continue that discussion on Monday.

Edited by: Rana Taha

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