BBC Homepage
  • Skip to content
  • Accessibility Help
  • Your account
  • Notifications
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • More menu
More menu
Search BBC
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
Close menu
BBC News
Menu
  • Home
  • InDepth
  • Israel-Gaza war
  • War in Ukraine
  • Climate
  • UK
  • World
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Culture
More
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Health
  • Family & Education
  • In Pictures
  • Newsbeat
  • BBC Verify
  • Disability
  • BBC Trending

Fake news follows migrant caravan's journey north

  • Published
    24 October 2018
Share page
About sharing
Media caption,

Trump and the facts about the migrant caravan

Chris Bell
BBC News

A row raging over the migrant caravan travelling towards the United States is being fuelled by misinformation and false statements online.

Thousands of migrants have got as far as Mexico, after the caravan which set out from Honduras has travelled north and grown in size.

The caravan's progress towards the US southern border has become the subject of intense speculation and discussion on social media.

A number of false or misleading assertions are among those to be shared widely.

Claim: 'Unknown Middle Easterners' among caravan

This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post by Jon Sopel

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post by Jon Sopel
Presentational white space

On Monday, President Trump asserted that "unknown Middle Easterners" were "mixed in" with the caravan heading north. However, on Tuesday he acknowledged there was no proof of those claims.

"There's no proof of anything. But there could very well be," the president said.

His initial assertion came shortly after Fox and Friends host Pete Hegseth reported claims that Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales had told a local newspaper they had caught more than 100 Islamic State group fighters in the country.

Reporters on the ground, including BBC correspondent Aleem Maqbool, have not seen "unknown Middle Easterners" among the migrants heading north.

This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post 2 by Matt Gutman

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post 2 by Matt Gutman
Presentational white space
This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post 3 by Jake Tapper

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post 3 by Jake Tapper

Claim: Migrant caravan funded by Democrats and George Soros

This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post 4 by Rep. Matt Gaetz

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post 4 by Rep. Matt Gaetz
Presentational white space

Last week, Republican congressman Matt Gaetz tweeted a video he said showed Hondurans being paid to join the migrant caravan.

Billionaire philanthropist George Soros, who is something of a pantomime villain in the eyes of many on the right, might be behind the payments, Gaetz suggested.

President Trump was among those to share the footage, which has been viewed millions of times, while the claims that migrants have been in some way funded by Soros or the Democrats have continued to be repeated on social media.

This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post 5 by Kenneth P. Vogel

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post 5 by Kenneth P. Vogel
Presentational white space

On Monday, vice president of government affairs at Campbell Soup, Kelly Johnston, claimed Mr Soros' philanthropic organisation Open Society "planned and is executing this".

There does not appear to be any evidence of this and none appears to have been offered. A company spokesperson said: "The opinions Mr Johnston expresses on Twitter are his individual views and do not represent the position of Campbell Soup Company". Mr Johnston later deleted his Twitter account.

Open Society denies any involvement and the video shared by Gaetz and the president was actually filmed in Guatemala, a fact which Gaetz later acknowledged he had got wrong, external.

Guatemalan journalist Luis Assardo posted details on Twitter about his efforts to investigate the claims.

Assardo said he had spoken to locals who told him money, food and clothing were being handed out by local retailers to those in the caravan, up to a maximum of about $25 (£19) each.

This X post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on X
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip X post 6 by Luis Assardo

Allow X content?

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read X’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of X post 6 by Luis Assardo
Presentational white space

Earlier this month President Trump, without evidence, accused Mr Soros of paying women protesting against the appointment of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

On Monday, New York police said they had safely destroyed a suspected letter bomb sent to Mr Soros's home.

You might also be interested in:

  • Bots feed Saudi support after Khashoggi disappearance

  • Why do people think this 'manspreading' video is a Kremlin hoax?

  • Why has Twitter banned 1500 accounts and what are NPCs?

Presentational white space

Claim: Mexican police assaulted by migrants

Mexican policeman injured in 2012 student protestImage source, EPA

It's an eye-grabbing image: a bloodied Mexican federal police agent is helped by a colleague bearing a riot shield.

Prominent pro-Trump Facebook pages are among those to have shared it with their followers, alongside the claim it shows an officer "brutalised by members of the caravan as they attempt to force their way into Mexico".

Virginia Thomas, who is married to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, also posted the images.

"The media won't share this, will they?" she wrote.

But the image does not come from the migrant caravan story. Photojournalist Gustavo Aguado took the picture in October 2012 during clashes between police and students at a Mexican high school.

More on this story

  • Trump vows to cut aid over migrant caravan

    • Published
      22 October 2018
    migrant child rests in tent
  • In pictures: Migrants face border tear gas

    • Published
      20 October 2018
    A Honduran man protects his baby amid clashes between migrants and Mexican Police

Top stories

  • Minneapolis school attacker 'obsessed with idea of killing children', officials say

    • Published
      43 minutes ago
  • European leaders outraged after Russian strikes kill 21 and damage EU's HQ

    • Published
      3 hours ago
  • Lives torn apart in Kyiv after Russia's heaviest bombardment for weeks

    • Published
      6 hours ago

More to explore

  • 'The whole town is on a high': What Grimsby's dramatic win over Man Utd means to fans

    A man in his 60s with short grey hair fist pumps the air in celebration. He is wearing a black and white Grimsby Town shirt.
  • Lives torn apart in Kyiv after Russia's heaviest bombardment for weeks

    Ukrainian Red Cross members provide first aid to a wounded woman at the site of a Russian missile strike on a residential building on August 28, 2025 in Kyiv,
  • What are Rachel Reeves' options on property tax?

    A woman walking her dog stands outside of an estate agent's window looking at prices
  • The Summer I Turned Pretty fans told to stop abuse of cast

    Christopher Briney, Lola Tung and Gavin Casalegno in a promotional photo for The Summer I Turned Pretty
  • 'Our hot homes are making our children sick'

    A nine year old girl wearing a black print t-shirt stands beside her mother who is wearing a long sleeved green t-shirt
  • Jacqueline Wilson on the 'easiest and hardest book I've ever written'

    Jacqueline Wilson
  • Minneapolis mourns two children killed in shooting - here's what we know

    People gather outdoors while holding candles at a vigil for the victims of the shooting,  at a local park at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis on Wednesday evening.
  • Woman says Zou raped her hours before other attack

    Treated image of Zhenhao Zou featuring his police mugshot. He is looking straight at the camera with a serious expression. He has straight dark hair with a long fringe and is wearing a white t-shirt and black shirt.
  • Spain and Portugal wildfires drive worst EU season on record

    Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite image acquired on 16 August shows multiple fires in northern Spain.
loading elsewhere stories

Most read

  1. 1

    MSP locked out of parliament after secret toilet camera claims

  2. 2

    Price of Mounjaro to be discounted in UK pharmacies

  3. 3

    Jessie J cancels tour dates to undergo surgery

  4. 4

    European leaders outraged after Russian strikes kill 21 and damage EU's HQ

  5. 5

    Met special constable found guilty of child rape

  6. 6

    'Our hot homes are making our children sick'

  7. 7

    Man Utd back Amorim as Rooney says club is 'broken'

    • Attribution
      Sport
  8. 8

    US Fed Governor Lisa Cook sues Trump over his attempt to fire her

  9. 9

    Froome airlifted to hospital after 'serious' crash

    • Attribution
      Sport
  10. 10

    We're in the dark about future, says Epping asylum seeker

BBC News Services

  • On your mobile
  • On smart speakers
  • Get news alerts
  • Contact BBC News

Best of the BBC

  • The ups and downs of a 30-year marriage

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Marriage
  • Bewitching drama from Anne Rice

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Mayfair Witches
  • Lies, forgeries and fraud worth $86 million

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    The Great Art Fraud
  • A celebration of Britain's finest composers

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Great British Classics at the Proms
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • Terms of Use
  • About the BBC
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • Accessibility Help
  • Parental Guidance
  • Contact the BBC
  • Make an editorial complaint
  • BBC emails for you

Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.