Study: Fear, misinformation drive anti-migrant discourse on Moroccan social media

Anti-migrant hate speech in Morocco is becoming increasingly organized around relatively homogeneous online communities that produce, spread and amplify narratives based on fear, misinformation and the portrayal of migrants as a threat to society, according to the latest MigraPress Barometer.

The report, titled “From Polarization to Normalization: Mapping Morocco’s Anti-Migrant Digital Ecosystem,”analyzed 863 Facebook, YouTube and TikTok posts published during April and May 2026 to assess the prevalence, intensity and evolution of online hate speech targeting Sub-Saharan migrants since the first quarter of the year.

The study found that 76.4% of the posts contained hate speech, discriminatory or stigmatizing content, or incitement to violence.

It also showed that 72.4% of the content carried medium to high emotional intensity, with anger and fear emerging as the dominant emotions.

According to the report, 65.1% of the analyzed posts included false, misleading or unverified information, which was frequently used to reinforce negative narratives about migrants.

Researchers found that the most extreme content generated the highest levels of engagement, with posts explicitly calling for violence or framing migrants through security-related narratives attracting the greatest number of reactions, comments and shares.

The report also concluded that emotionally charged content was more likely to go viral than posts containing misinformation alone, suggesting that emotional appeals play a greater role in amplifying anti-migrant narratives online.

Security and crime featured prominently in the discourse, appearing in nearly 40% of the content examined.

Meanwhile, counter-narratives promoting inclusion or challenging misinformation remained limited and failed to match the visibility of hostile content, contributing to what the report describes as the growing normalization of discriminatory rhetoric against migrants in Morocco.