The move comes as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer attempts to crack down on smuggling gangs.
The UK government has launched a digital advertising campaign in Iraq in a bid to stop prospective migrants from crossing the English Channel in small boats.
It follows similar campaigns in Vietnam and Albania under the previous Conservative government.
Since taking office in July, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has pledged to crack down on the smugglers who enable the dangerous small boat crossings.
The number of people reaching the UK in inflatable vessels from the continent remains high. On Sunday, 592 migrants arrived in 11 boats, according to the Home Office.
The UK government hopes its latest campaign, which aims to counter the “myths and misinformation peddled by criminals”, will deter people in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) from attempting the journey via boat to Britain.
“Ruthless criminal gangs spread dangerous lies on social media to exploit people for money, and we are exposing them using the real stories of their victims,” Dame Angela Eagle, the UK’s minister for border security and asylum, said.
However, critics said that social media adverts were unlikely to stop people desperate to flee persecution.
The UK’s Border Security Commander Martin Hewitt visited Iraq and the KRI last week to discuss further cooperation against smuggling gangs, following a security pact in November between the British and Iraqi governments.
Starmer’s government has faced criticism in recent weeks over a policy that effectively bans migrants who arrive on small boats from becoming British citizens.
In 2024, approximately 36,816 people crossed the Channel in small boats, according to Home Office figures. More than 2,000 of them had travelled from Iraq.
