European Fact-Checking Standards Network (EFCSN)

Meta’s Oversight Board just weighed in on #Meta ’s #CommunityNotes testing across 16 Latin American countries. Three points stand out: • #Factcheckers should not be replaced. “We urge Meta not to consider community notes a direct replacement for fact-checking, and to use all the tools that best address the challenge of misinformation on its platforms.” • Understand the risks first. “The decision to move from testing to implementation should be driven by country-specific analysis of risk factors.” • Measure performance to determine success. “Any expansion of community notes should be done only after judicious review of how well the program is performing in its first market, the United States.” The Board warns that rolling out community notes in countries facing political violence, repressive regimes, or contested elections carries real risk, and stresses that community notes often rely on fact-checking to work.

Fact-checkers across Europe are facing growing risks: online harassment, legal threats, and coordinated attacks during information crises. Together with Pagella Politica & Faktograf - Association for the Informed Public, we are launching a new training programme to help fact-checking organisations build resilience and respond effectively when it matters most. 🔹 10 free online sessions 🔹 October 2026 – April 2028 🔹 Covering digital security, crisis response, legal risks, online harassment, and the wellbeing of fact-checkers The first session, "How newsrooms can build an effective response against online harassment," takes place on 9 October 2026, 11:00–13:00 CET, with Javier Luque Martínez (International Press Institute). 📌 Registration is open now: https://lnkd.in/dz_WSQwJ #FactChecking #FACTEUR #training #protectionscheme #onlineharrasment

The European Fact-Checking Standards Network (EFCSN) exists to uphold standards and support #factcheckers and #informationintegrity professionals. That's why we're running a short survey on the state of European information integrity, together with CheckFirst. What's most pressing? What would actually help? We want to hear from the community directly: what are the biggest problems facing fact-checkers and information integrity professionals in Europe today, and what resources, capabilities, or infrastructure could help fix them? Your answers tell us what to advocate for and prioritise next. ✨Take the survey (~5 minutes): https://lnkd.in/eS84e8Uc

Literacy today also means knowing how to navigate the information space, question what we see and spot attempts to manipulate us. On #InternationalLiteracyDay, uncover the tricks behind disinformation campaigns with www.voteforturtle.eu 🗳️🐢 Step into the shoes of a malicious actor and explore how disinformation spreads, learning the tactics and psychology behind manipulation along the way.  The game is now available in all 24 EU languages as well as Ukrainian, Turkish, Arabic, Russian, Hausa and Swahili.   Thank you to all colleagues in Brussels and in EP offices who made the translation possible and to the European External Action Service, with whom we collaborated to develop the game.

#CeutaUpdate : EFCSN members discovering Russian networks actively amplifying related narratives. 1️⃣ Recurring: a new mass wave entered or tried to enter Ceuta on 15 August. Old footage was recirculated as supposed evidence that hundreds of migrants had gathered at the border, entered Ceuta, or were preparing for another "wave". Our members found the videos documented earlier events, predominantly the mass crossings of late July and early August. ➞ The recycling tried to create a misleading impression of the scale and success of the attempt. 2️⃣ New: Russian networks amplifying the narratives. An investigation by our members analysed 23,234 Telegram posts published between 28 July and 11 August, categorising them into 10 narratives related to Ceuta. Russian-linked networks, particularly Rybar and Pravda, joined the information environment after the mass crossings and amplified existing narratives. They did not cause or organise the migration. They exploited the events after they occurred, spreading those narratives to European and Russian audiences in ways designed to generate fear and political division. 3️⃣ Recurring: Posts claimed Spanish military and police forces were letting migrants pass, with some alleging the European Union had mediated an agreement to enable the crossings. This is a recurring narrative alleged that the arrival of migrants was not the result of authorities losing control, but of a deliberate political decision to facilitate their entry. 4️⃣ Recurring: migrants are bringing violence, crime and disorder. An old video of an attempted robbery in Barcelona was presented as showing a Moroccan migrant connected to the recent influx, and images of burned vehicles recorded on the Moroccan side of the border were falsely tied to events in the enclave. 5️⃣ The Ceuta crisis also became the subject of geopolitical narratives attributing the migration situation and territorial tensions to covert foreign interference. One claim alleged Chinese intelligence had determined that Israel's Mossad was behind the Moroccan migration crisis, with no basis for such an assessment. Another claimed the Trump administration gave Morocco $40 million to help it "retake" Ceuta and Melilla. 6️⃣ Recurring: Moroccan security forces violently suppressed the 15 August attempt. A video circulated as supposedly showing Moroccan police opening fire at the Ceuta fence that day. It was recorded in Melilla, in late July. This is the last regular update for the time being. According to our #PrebunkingatScale monitoring tool, the spread of narratives has slowed, at least on short-form video platforms. But the situation in Ceuta is not resolved and real challenges persist. Countering #disinformation reduces the risk of people being misled and situations spiralling out of control, but it cannot solve the underlying issues people are facing. We keep monitoring, and we will post again as needed. Check our members' work in the comments for reference:

#CeutaUpdate : a fake "European dream", and #Disinformation over who owns #Ceuta 1️⃣ Recurring: calls encouraging migrants to attempt to enter Ceuta on 15 August are still circulating, alongside false information about Spanish border policy. 2️⃣ New: a fabricated "European dream". Our members found deepfakes and impersonation accounts involving "Farah", a young woman who became widely known after crossing into Ceuta, falsely presenting her as already established in Spain. The story spread in Arabic-language Facebook groups promoting migration from Morocco to Spain, creating an appealing picture of what awaits those who make the crossing. 3️⃣ Recurring: Claims linking the recent arrivals to a public health emergency in Ceuta continue to circulate. Posts warned of supposed health "alerts" and outbreaks of scabies, impetigo and tuberculosis following the arrival of thousands of migrants. However, health authorities have not declared such an alert and clarified that these diseases were already present and being treated in Ceuta before the recent arrivals. Our members have identified similar claims in previous reporting cycles. 4️⃣ Claims that Ceuta and #Melilla are not legitimately Spanish and should become part of Morocco, ranging from misleading interpretations of Spain's Constitution to unsupported assertions that the Spanish and Moroccan governments have already agreed to transfer the two cities. The narrative builds on the FreeCeuta and FreeMelilla campaigns our members identified earlier, which portrayed the two cities as territories Morocco should "reclaim". 5️⃣ Recurring: Spain is losing control of its borders. Old footage of migrant boats arriving in Andalusia was recirculated as evidence of the current crisis, and manipulated audio was added to footage of King Felipe VI to make it appear he was being confronted over Spain being "invaded" while attending a sailing event. Our members' work in the comments:

#CeutaUpdate : the accounts pushing 15 August, and a new #Disinformation narrative around #Ceuta 15 August is tomorrow. What EFCSN members have found in the last day: 1️⃣ Recurring: posts pushing another mass crossing on 15 August keep gaining reach. Our member Fundación Maldita.es found a cluster of Instagram accounts based in Morocco amplifying videos about it, some passing hundreds of thousands of views from accounts with few followers: https://lnkd.in/gaS8VJdd Not all of it is misinformation, but it is content that may encourage irregular migration, and it feeds the already debunked claim that Spain will temporarily open the border on 15 August. 2️⃣ New: claims that #Moroccan security forces are using severe or potentially lethal violence against people crossing into Ceuta or returning from Spain. An image shared as a young Moroccan man injured by Moroccan police on 30 July, with some posts saying he later died, shows a young Palestinian from Gaza. A second, of a border guard throwing a large stone at a man returning from Spain, is most likely #AIgenerated. Our members have been debunking that one for days. 3️⃣ Recurring: #Spain is losing control of its borders. Old footage of migrant arrivals in Andalusia is back as evidence of the current crisis, and unrelated videos are being passed off as the Algerian military escorting columns of young Africans towards Ceuta. 4️⃣ Recurring: migrants are bringing violence, crime and disorder to Ceuta. Old and unrelated footage still circulates as migrants attacking police, rioting or vandalising, alongside claims of looting and confrontations with residents. In several cases the events happened years earlier, took place elsewhere, or did not support claims of widespread migrant violence. 5️⃣ Migrants are still being portrayed through dehumanising stereotypes. A video of a man eating a rat, filmed in South Africa, was tied to migrants arriving in Ceuta and Europe. It follows other manipulated content our members have found portraying migrants as threatening or uncivilised. More updates as the situation develops. Our members' work in the comments:

#CeutaUpdate : two new #Disinformation narratives around #Ceuta, and three that keep coming back. Two narratives are new since our last update, and three are ones our members keep seeing. Here is what EFCSN members have identified: 1️⃣ New: claims that migrants are bringing disease. Several media outlets said the mass influx had triggered outbreaks of tuberculosis, scabies and impetigo in the city, presented as evidence of the health risks associated with migration. Our members found no evidence that health authorities had linked the reported cases to the recent arrivals. Local officials clarified that no outbreak had been declared, and that some of these diseases, including tuberculosis, have been present in Ceuta for years and cannot be attributed to the current migration situation. 2️⃣ New: a growing narrative framing Ceuta and Melilla as territories under Spanish occupation that should be reclaimed by Morocco. Fundación Maldita.es found messages posted in different languages, hashtags such as "Free Ceuta" and "Free Melilla", and content repeating the same images and slogans, a pattern that could indicate coordination. 3️⃣ Recurring: claims that Spanish authorities are preparing to facilitate new crossings. Posts circulating widely on Arabic-language social media allege that the Spanish Government would temporarily open the Ceuta border crossing on 15 August for 15 hours, to deal with emergency situations and ease traffic. They spread across multiple platforms and messaging channels despite having no basis in any official announcement. 4️⃣ Recurring: claims that Ceuta is descending into chaos, crime and insecurity, built on recycled footage. Videos recorded in Belgium, in Morocco, or during previous migration episodes in Ceuta were falsely presented as current scenes of violence associated with the recent arrivals. 5️⃣ Recurring: #AI used to "prove" the scale of the crisis. Members identified #AIgenerated visuals circulated as supposed evidence of the scale of the crossings, or of hostility and violence at the border, despite clear signs of digital manipulation. More updates as the situation develops. Our members' work in the comments:

#CeutaUpdate : the #Disinformation circulating ahead of 15 August in #Ceuta A new crossing to Ceuta is being encouraged for 15 August, and EFCSN members have been analysing how those messages travel. Here is what our network has identified since our last update: 1️⃣ Messages encouraging the crossing, including a claim that Sánchez's government will provide 15 million euros to accommodate the migrants. Little of it is designed to go viral: the strategy is a cascade of small posts, plus closed #WhatsApp groups recruiting young people and organising logistics. 2️⃣ Claims that Ceuta is descending into chaos, crime and insecurity: recycled footage of migrants supposedly attacking police, and #AIgenerated videos portraying them in grotesque ways. 3️⃣ Unrelated videos presented as current footage from Ceuta, and unrelated protests presented as a mobilisation in Morocco against Spain, circulating in Arabic as a protest "against the continued Spanish occupation of Moroccan territories". 4️⃣ Claims that Ceuta is only the first step towards the rest of Europe: altered subtitles saying migrants would travel on to Germany, and a satirical video shared as genuine, with posts claiming the woman in it declared "Europe will be ours". 5️⃣ Claims that travel restrictions now affect EU citizens too, including viral images falsely alleging that Italy had stopped allowing Spanish citizens to enter using only their national identity card. Under the #CodeofConduct on #Disinformation, EFCSN is also enhancing its information-sharing with Meta and TikTok, so fact-checkers can flag potentially harmful disinformation on this topic. The mechanism is already operational. More updates as the situation develops. Check our members' work in the comments:

#CeutaUpdate : #Disinformation monitoring on the #Ceuta situation As events in Ceuta continue to develop, EFCSN members are intensifying their monitoring to keep the public informed. Here are the key mis/disinformation narratives our network has identified so far: 1️⃣ False claims about what is happening in Ceuta : using recycled videos from months/years earlier or from entirely different countries. 2️⃣ False claims that Spain is losing control of its borders, including a fabricated border-opening date, exaggerated migrant numbers, and misleading videos. 3️⃣ Manipulated and AI-generated images/videos exaggerating the crisis, including a fabricated "abandoned wedding" photo and authentic footage altered with fake subtitles. 4️⃣ Narratives claiming Spanish authorities are deceiving the public, including false claims about RTVE staging photos and misleading posts about PM Pedro Sánchez. To support #factcheckers responding to this and other crises, we've also launched two Emergency Response Support Grants, which are designed to enable fact-checkers to respond rapidly and effectively to #disinformation during crisis events across Europe such as the Ceuta crisis. We'll continue sharing updates on LinkedIn as the situation develops. Meanwhile, check our members’ work in the comment below for more timely debunks and investigations: