Prominent members of Mexican drug cartels use Twitter to recruit new members, send warnings to rival gangs, post harrowing images and videos, and glorify the drug lifestyle. Some of these accounts were banned by his Twitter security team between 2012 and 2015, but they’ve been back since Elon Musk bought the company last year.
these are, new report It was released Thursday by the Alliance to Counter Crime Online, a coalition of organizations investigating online crimes such as drug trafficking, child sexual abuse and romance fraud. ACCO is now taking to Twitter to block and remove drug content and to re-suspend the accounts that spread it.
The group’s report comes days after Mexico’s Gulf Cartel killed Two of the four American citizens they kidnapped after the Americans crossed the border.thursday, cartel reportedly apologized for the action.
“Social media is a tool that benefits and strengthens drug cartels by making them more organized and operational,” said report author Nilda Garcia, Ph.D., assistant professor of political science at Texas A&M International University. told BuzzFeed News. “These means of communication not only enable drug cartels to engage in public relations strategies, gain legitimacy, incite fear, and recruit, but also facilitate criminal activities, including extortion, drug sales, and smuggling of people online. It provides a major opportunity to promote diversification.”
Some of the cartel images appear to violate Twitter’s violent content policy. In one video of him posted by a member of Jalisco’s New Generation Cartel, headed by his Nemesio Oseguera, one of the world’s most wanted drug lords, the rival cartel beheaded his members. The decapitated head is thrown into the bonfire. Another tweet posted by a member of La Chapisa, a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, features victims being scalped.
Under Musk’s leadership, Twitter’s efforts to remove this content and block these accounts have declined, according to the report. Some of Musk’s actions, including firing more than 70% of Twitter’s employees, including his content moderators, who are responsible for keeping the platform safe, exacerbate the problem, according to the report. I’m here.
ACCO executive director Gretchen Peters said in an interview with BuzzFeed News, “Twitter should not provide a platform for Mexican cartel members to spread hatred and incite violence.” I am asking you to study and investigate this issue more closely.”
Twitter, which no longer has a news division, reportedly did not respond to a request for comment from BuzzFeed News.
Thousands of previously banned accounts have been reinstated, including those of far-right figures like MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and former Donald Trump ally Steve Bannon, so extremists and other villains have turned to Musk. prospered under the leadership ofEarlier this year, Twitter sparked outrage after approved Taliban members buy blue confirmation checkmarks for their accounts. (Twitter) It was deleted Shortly thereafter, you will see checkmarks for these accounts. )
According to the report’s findings, unlike the Taliban, drug cartel members have not yet bought blue checks. Garcia said he suspects this is because gang members don’t want more attention. “The use of social media can be a double-edged sword for them,” she said. “They have learned how not to be vulnerable and not draw any more attention from the authorities.”
The cartel’s account has not been officially confirmed, making it difficult to determine its veracity. To determine if the account was legitimate, he looked for signs of association with other cartels, Garcia said. She also looked at the geographic location of the accounts in question.
the author of Book called Mexico’s Drug War and Criminal Networks: The Dark Side of Social Media, Garcia is an expert on the Sinaloa Cartel and has a strong presence on Twitter. We estimate that we have reached more than one. “They have a broad fan base,” she said.
