Mexican Cartels Spread Disinformation on Social Media Following Leader’s Death

In the aftermath of notorious cartel leader El Mencho’s death, Mexican criminal organizations unleashed a coordinated disinformation campaign across social media platforms, security researchers report. The sophisticated propaganda effort aimed to amplify fear and exaggerate the scope of retaliatory violence following Sunday’s killing of Mexico’s most wanted drug lord.

While real violence did erupt across Mexico as Jalisco New Generation Cartel (JNGC) supporters blocked highways, torched commercial buses and retail establishments, and targeted fuel stations, the online narrative painted a far more catastrophic picture of the unrest.

Fabricated reports claiming armed assassins had seized control of Guadalajara’s airport circulated widely, complete with doctored images showing aircraft engulfed in flames on tarmacs. Other manipulated images depicted smoke rising from religious buildings and various structures in Puerto Vallarta, a popular tourist destination. Reuters analysis confirmed these viral images, shared tens of thousands of times, were entirely fabricated.

“They are trying to show that the Mexican government doesn’t have control over the country,” explained Jane Esberg, an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania who researches Mexican criminal organizations’ social media tactics. This approach, she noted, serves to project an image of nationwide cartel influence while obscuring the actual magnitude of violence facing security personnel.

Security analysts observed that while false information commonly spreads following major news developments, especially in the era of artificial intelligence, the velocity at which these particular falsehoods circulated was unprecedented. The spread was driven not only by unwitting social media users but deliberately by cartel operatives seeking to magnify the perceived scope and terror of their violent response.

During Monday’s press briefing, Mexican Security Secretary Omar Garcia Harfuch confirmed authorities had identified “various accounts” suspected of cartel connections. He announced plans for comprehensive investigations to identify those with “direct relationships with an organized crime group.” Garcia Harfuch distinguished between criminally-linked profiles and separate accounts “dedicated to spreading lies” without established connections to illegal organizations.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum acknowledged the rapid spread of misinformation, stating “many, many fake news stories” emerged following El Mencho’s elimination. Authorities are working to counter this false information.

Mexican criminal organizations have historically leveraged social media for propaganda purposes, including defaming rival groups and promoting community assistance programs like pandemic relief distribution. However, their traditional disinformation tactics relied on simpler methods – recycling older footage or repurposing violent imagery from distant international conflicts.

The emergence of artificial intelligence capabilities has now enabled these organizations to generate increasingly sophisticated fraudulent content. Additionally, the growing influence of “narco influencers” – social media figures who cultivate massive audiences while glamorizing organized criminal activity – has created additional propaganda channels in recent years.

Such misinformation operations prove especially damaging in Mexico, where violence prevents journalists from accessing certain regions to conduct ground-level reporting and distinguish truth from fabrication, Esberg observed. She and fellow experts emphasized the difficulty of definitively identifying which accounts or websites maintain cartel ties while disseminating false information.

Pablo Calderon, who teaches politics and international relations at Northeastern University London, explained that cartels leverage social media to enhance their perceived power and influence while manipulating public perception through disinformation.

“Sunday was a good day for Mexican security forces,” Calderon stated. “But organized crime has been successful in shifting the narrative, away from the (military raid) to chaos.”

The incident highlights the evolving battlefield of information warfare, where criminal organizations increasingly deploy sophisticated digital strategies alongside physical violence to achieve their objectives of instilling fear, projecting power, and undermining governmental authority.