A video viewed more than a million and a half times claims satellite images prove that thousands of boats are gathering at Nouadhibou to carry migrants towards the Canary Islands. France 24's Truth or Fake team checked the footage and found the images are authentic but old: they show a traditional fishing port, and the pictures circulating online date back to March 2025.

The claim gained traction because crossings to the Canaries really have risen sharply, and Canary Islands authorities declared a migrant emergency this week.

What the viral video claims

The video shows a person scrolling through satellite images on a mobile phone. The images appear to depict thousands of boats packed closely together at the port of Nouadhibou in northwestern Mauritania.

• •One social media post described the images as "irrefutable evidence" of an imminent mass crossing.
• •That post drew more than 1.5 million views in just 48 hours.

How the images were checked

The verification confirmed the location: comparing the pictures with Google Earth shows they were taken over the port of Nouadhibou. What the images do not show is anything recent. They date back to March 2025, so they cannot document a current build-up of vessels.

Historical satellite imagery settles the question further. Similar concentrations of boats appear in exactly the same location in pictures dating back to 2013 and even 2005, long before the current increase in crossings.

What the port actually is

Nouadhibou is a working fishing port. According to Mauritania's tourism ministry, it supports thousands of families and supplies local markets with fish - which explains why large numbers of boats cluster there.

The real migration context

Nouadhibou does sit on a genuine migration route. The UN's International Organization for Migration has identified the city as a key transit location for migrants heading to Europe, and the European Union has established a partnership with Mauritania aimed at curbing irregular migration, including boat departures towards the Canary Islands.

• •In late October and early November, the Mauritanian navy rescued hundreds of people travelling in overcrowded boats off the coast of Nouadhibou, though there is no evidence they left from the port shown in the viral video.
• •Thousands of people have reached the Canary Islands in recent weeks, particularly the island of El Hierro, where local authorities have declared a state of emergency.

So while the migration pressure on the islands is real, there is no evidence of a coordinated mass departure from Mauritania. The footage recycles authentic satellite images of a fishing port taken out of context - and similar videos alleging a mass crossing from Nouadhibou have circulated since at least 2020, repeatedly debunked by Spanish fact-checkers.