In late July 2026, a dramatic surge of migration attempts occurred as tens of thousands of individuals, predominantly from Morocco, made their way to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, situated in North Africa. Amidst this chaotic backdrop, a video featuring a young man swimming has gained significant traction on social media, accruing over 2,200 shares along with misleading claims that he was an immigrant attempting to cross into Spain. However, the footage was actually filmed in the Moroccan port city of El Jadida, approximately 500 kilometers away from Ceuta, with the individual explicitly clarifying that he has never set foot in Ceuta.
One Facebook post declared, "A migrant swims to Ceuta and records the entire journey. A Moroccan migrant filmed himself swimming to Ceuta with the intention of illegally entering Spanish territory." This assertion has circulated widely across various platforms, including Instagram, Threads, X, and TikTok, with translations available in English, French, German, Hindi, and Bengali. In the video, the young man appears to be holding what looks like a selfie stick as he navigates the waters.
Furthermore, Moroccan human rights organizations have reported that at least 141 individuals lost their lives trying to reach Ceuta, many of whom attempted the perilous swim. This alarming figure has prompted warnings that the death toll could rise further. According to Spanish Interior Ministry officials, around 72,000 migrants illegally entered Ceuta within a few days—a record number—of which approximately 70,000 were subsequently returned to Morocco. Nevertheless, the viral video in question is not connected to these tragic events.
An analysis of key frames from the video through a reverse image search on Google led to the earliest known posting of the footage by the user "@lgochi_____07" on Instagram, dated July 30, 2026. This profile has shared multiple recordings of the young man swimming in the same area. In a post from August 2, the user stated that he was in El Jadida, claiming, "I have never even been to Ceuta. I am in El Jadida; in fact, I have never left here in my entire life," spoken in Arabic. Visual comparisons using Google Maps Street View corroborate this location, matching the concrete structures featured in the user's posts.
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As reported by es-us.noticias.yahoo.com.
