Ceuta migration video claims of city collapse are misleading

A viral video claiming to show the streets of Ceuta “totally collapsed” by migrants 18 days after a mass influx is misleading. While the footage does depict Ceuta near the Sidi Embarek mosque, the video was actually recorded on July 31, the same day as the arrivals, rather than weeks later as social media posts suggested.

Between July 30 and July 31, an estimated 70,000 to 80,000 people entered the autonomous city through the El Tarajal border. This influx nearly doubled the city's population, which was approximately 83,000 in 2025. The original uploader, a user identified as “pakito89_arrebola,” later clarified to AFP Factual that the footage was taken on the 31st.