Tens of thousands of migrants rushed into Spain’s north African territory of Ceuta from neighbouring Morocco in late July 2026. An image circulating online purports to show a Moroccan officer preparing to slam a rock onto a migrant’s head. But this is misleading; while a similar scene was filmed by witnesses, the image shared as a depiction of the incident was generated using OpenAI.<\/p>\n
“A Spanish journalist caught on photo when a Moroccan Army threw a heavy stone to its citizen going back to Morocco in Cold B|00d (sic),” reads the Facebook post published<\/a> on August 2, 2026.<\/p>\n The image shows a guard wearing a green uniform and a riot helmet preparing to throw a boulder at a man about to reach the top of a cliff.<\/p>\n Screenshot of the false Facebook post, taken on August 11, 2026. AI symbol added by AFP<\/p>\n <\/span><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Some commenters under the post appeared to believe the image was real.<\/p>\n “The guy will surely going to die (sic),” one user wrote, while another said it was “so saddening”.<\/p>\n Others speculated that the image was likely AI-generated.<\/p>\n Similar claims were shared elsewhere in Africa here<\/a> and here<\/a>,\u00a0and in other languages including Czech<\/a> and French<\/a>.<\/p>\n Earlier posts with the same image were debunked here<\/a> and here<\/a> after they falsely attributed the image to news agency Reuters (archived here<\/a> and here<\/a>). A separate X post<\/a> also claimed that the image shows an Israeli soldier attacking a man in Gaza.<\/p>\n The claims followed scenes in late July when tens of thousands of people, mostly Moroccans, rushed<\/a> into Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in North Africa (archived here<\/a>).\u00a0<\/p>\n Spain sent troops to bolster security as the influx of the territory’s largest-ever mass crossing<\/a> drove the European nation into an international crisis (archived here<\/a>).\u00a0<\/p>\n Authorities said<\/a> at least 77 people died on August 5, and that 70,000 of the 72,000 migrants who reached Ceuta had since returned to Morocco (archived here<\/a>).\u00a0<\/p>\n While there is an authentic video from the border rush showing a similar scene to the one in the image circulating online, the close-up image itself is a fabrication.\u00a0<\/p>\n Closer examination of the image revealed visible signs of manipulation typical of AI visuals, including pixelated edges on both individuals and the rock, and distorted hands on the man climbing the cliff.\u00a0<\/p>\nCeuta border crisis<\/h2>\n
AI-generated<\/h2>\n
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