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Social media’s role in Mexican drug wars

March 13, 2011

The Mideast uprisings and the role of social media in galvanizing revolutions have been front and center at SXSW this year. But Saturday morning, I attended a panel on the use of social media in Mexico, and was reminded of how technology is impacting crisis communication in our own backyard.

In 2009, the Pentagon put Mexico on par with Pakistan as a nation at risk of becoming a failed state. As violence escalated, so did the country’s adoption of social media, with bloggers, drug cartels and Mexican authorities all leveraging the Web.

Judith Torrea (@judithtorrea) said she began blogging about the violence in Ciudad Juarez because she wanted to tell the story, but couldn’t wait for an editor. Newspapers and journalists across the country have been subject to threats, kidnappings and execution.

Javier Garza (@jagarzaramos), an editor at El Siglo de Torreon in the state of Coahuila, said his reporters use Twitter to report on violence there, but are under great pressure to make sure they have the correct facts. “Social media is not a pretext for getting things wrong,” he said. Garza also noted the dangers of spreading misinformation as cartels and authorities maintain their own agendas on social networks. The consequences can be dire.

The hashtag #balacera (#shootout) has become a common trend on Twitter as a way of reporting violence in realtime. David Sasaki (@oso) noted how the cartels have learned to use Facebook and Twitter to coordinate and also intimidate. As more journalists have been targeted, bloggers have stepped in to fill the gap, with sites like blogdelnarco.com surpassing many mainstream news sites in traffic.

The Mexican government has weighed tighter controls on the Internet to limit the influence of cartels. But local governments and bloggers are sharing critical information. Sasaki described Web sites that have emerged to collect user reports on acts of violence or heroism. Check out Saskaki’s presentation for more details.

Social Media and Organized Crime in Mexico

Amanda Zamora / Social Media and Engagement Editor