Fake Morocco-Portugal tunnel AI hoax deceives media

In late April, a viral post on social network X claimed that Lisbon and Rabat were preparing the construction of an underwater highway. Valued at 800 million euros, this monumental project planned a dual-gallery tunnel equipped with an emergency corridor, connecting northern Tangier to Portugal’s Algarve region. Press outlets in Spain, such as OKDiario, and in Morocco readily relayed the information. Some even shared absurd infographics reducing the distance between the two coasts to around thirty kilometers, dismissing the 200 kilometers that actually separate the two territories.

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Portuguese fact-checking agency Lusa Verifica quickly exposed this hoax. The origin of this alleged engineering feat traces back to Jornal Inside, a former local media outlet inactive since mid-2023. Its web address was recently hijacked to distribute fake articles entirely written by algorithms. This fraudulent site cleverly mixed vague references and sharp technical details, such as the use of underwater tunnel boring machines, to create a credible narrative and trap the vigilance of many observers.

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Faced with the scale of misinformation, authorities had to intervene to extinguish the fire. The Portuguese Ministry of Infrastructure categorically denied the existence of this unprecedented road link, stating that these allegations have no factual basis. For its part, the Portuguese communications regulator confirmed the opening of proceedings against the offending platform. The only genuine infrastructure project of this type currently under study in the region remains the rail link between Morocco and Spain.