On July 10-13, 2023, Georgian-language Facebook accounts (1, 2) published a video showing the alleged movement of 500,000 men from the coast of Libya to Europe. According to the authors, a convoy of half a million men is heading from Libya to Italy to invade Europe. The anonymous Facebook account “National Spirit” also published an identical video, accusing the United States of massive migration from Libya.
The Video footage is being circulated with a false description. The claim that the video shows the movement of an “army” of 500,000 migrants from Libya to Italy is false. The video was indeed shot in Libya, but it shows Libyan security forces driving Egyptian illegal migrants back into Egyptian territory.
The Libyan National Army, led by Khalifa Haftar, expelled 4,000 illegal migrants from Libyan territory and forced them to cross the Egyptian border on foot. Prior to the incident, several military raids were carried out on the territory of the country, during which the hiding places of migrants illegally staying on the territory of Libya were discovered, and they were freed from smugglers.
The Egyptian side confirmed the fact of crossing the border but noted that among the deportees, along with Egyptian citizens, there were also citizens of other countries, and some of them did not have official documents. The deportation of victims of smugglers involved in illegal migration has become a cause of tension between the two countries. The circulated videos showing people crossing the Egyptian border on foot through the cordon of military personnel from the territory of Libya were evaluated as a shameful and insulting act by Egypt. According to the General Director of the Egyptian Customs Service, Libya has the right to deport people illegally staying in its territory, however, using procedures that respect the conditions and rights of the deportees.
Videos depicting the deportation of Egyptian migrants from Libya appeared on various social networks (1,2,3) on June 2-4. Since the middle of June, various English-language pages on Twitter and TikTok have been massively spreading these footages with false descriptions and presenting the videos as proof of the influx of migrants from Libya to Italy. The videos, including the video circulated in Georgia, were also verified by France 24.
Although the video is circulating with a false description and the number of migrants is greatly exaggerated, it is worth noting that illegal migration to Italy through Libya is one of the most frequently used routes. In 2022, Italy received a total of 105,000 migrants, of which 53,310 entered Italy from Libya. From the beginning of 2023, the number of migrants arriving on Italian shores through the Mediterranean Sea is increasing every month. According to UNHCR, in May 2023, this number was 8,154, of which the share of migrants and internally displaced persons from Libya was 72%. According to a study by the Italian Institute for International Policy Studies (ISPI), well-organized criminal networks with transnational connections operate in Libya and are actively involved in human smuggling.
About the Sources:
The Facebook account Maia Tvaltvadze regularly publishes posts with anti-Western, anti-vax content, as well as conspiracy theories. “Myth Detector” has fact-checked the false information spread by Tvaltvadze many times in the past.
Facebook account National Spirit, who posted the video with a fake description, has published Facebook posts containing false information in the past as well.
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