Did the Welsh Refugee Council create a video involving schoolgirls to "entice migrant men to come to Wales"? No, that's not true: The group said, "We did not create or commission the video currently being circulated." The Welsh government explained that the video was made by a group of students to show their school as a welcoming place.
The claim appeared in a post and video (archived here) on X on January 11, 2025. The video's caption said:
In Wales, the Welsh Refugee Council is using 12-year-old girls in ads meant to entice migrant men to come to Wales. Most members of this council are from the Middle East, India and Pakistan.
I think I'm going to throw up.
This is what the post looked like at the time of writing:
(Source: X screenshot taken on Tue Jan 14 18:14:59 2025 UTC)
This post provided no evidence to support the assertion that the Welsh Refugee Council (WRC) created a video using schoolgirls to "entice migrant men to come to Wales."
Elon Musk
Majority X owner Elon Musk shared and amplified this false social media claim, which has generated millions of views. Musk's repost appears below:
(Source: X screenshot taken on Tue Jan 14 22:46:15 2025 UTC)
Welsh Refugee Council
In a January 14, 2025, statement (archived here) on the group's website, Council CEO Andrea Cleaver said, "We are concerned by the circulation of misinformation by individuals in positions of influence." She continued:
We urge everyone to seek the facts before sharing or endorsing inaccurate content, including fake images, doctored videos, and misleading claims. Spreading such material can escalate threats toward our organisation and staff, and seek to divide communities.
In 2023, a video from a school project welcoming refugees was released. It was never intended as an advert to encourage migration and was shared to show the positivity of pupils.
The Welsh Refugee Council would like to clarify that we did not create or commission the video currently being circulated. While we were not involved in its production, we reshared the post as a positive example of young people championing messages of compassion and inclusion. The video was subsequently taken down due to it being used out of context and the hostile backlash that followed.
Welsh government
The Welsh government responded to the claim on social media in a statement (archived here) published on January 13, 2025. It said:
Claim: Schoolchildren are being used to encourage refugees to come to Wales
This claim is untrue.
The video in question was produced by a group of young children to show their school as a welcoming place.
The video was withdrawn in 2023 following extensive online abuse received by the school.
Read more
Other Lead Stories fact checks on claims about immigrants are here.
