Mauritania fishing boats falsely portrayed as migrant fleet bound for Spain
Summary
Viral social media posts claimed satellite images showed thousands of boats in Nouadhibou, Mauritania, preparing to carry migrants to Spain’s Canary Islands. The images date to March 2025 and show fishing boats at a traditional fishing port, not a migrant fleet preparing to depart.Key Facts
- The satellite images show the port of Nouadhibou in northwestern Mauritania.
- The images shared online date to March 2025, and similar boat concentrations appear in imagery from 2013 and 2005.
- The boats shown are fishing vessels that support local families and supply markets with fish.
- A social media post calling the images proof of an imminent mass crossing received more than 1.5 million views in 48 hours.
- Mauritania is a departure and transit point for some migrants seeking to reach Europe through West Africa.
- The Mauritanian navy rescued hundreds of people from overcrowded boats off Nouadhibou in late October and early November; there is no evidence they left from the port shown in the viral images.
- Thousands of migrants have reached Spain’s Canary Islands in recent weeks, and authorities declared a migrant emergency.
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