social media & drug cartels
TRANSCRIPT
Social Media & The War On Drugs
By Alex MantaOct. 25th, 2011
The role that social media plays in Mexico’s struggle to stop the violence brought on by drug cartels
OverviewWhy I chose the topic
Recent incidences
The drug cartels and their influence
Changing roles of traditional and social media
Topic choice
Started with a tweet: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/americas/09/14/mexico.violence/
Social media as a matter of life and death
Topic we haven’t touched on
In the news…2 bodies hung from bridge in Nuevo Laredo on Sept. 13th
Bodies were mutilated and remain unidentified
Sign was left with bodies
Newspaper editor beheaded and body displayed in public on Sept. 24th
Active contributor on "Nuevo Laredo en Vivo”
Sign left identifying her by her username
Key Cartels & Blogs•Cities with heavy drug-related violence include Reynosa, Nuevo Laredo, Monterrey, Saltillo, and Veracruz
•Two prominent gangs are the Zetas and the Gulf Cartel
•Main blogs:•Frontera Al Rojo Vivo•Blog del Narco
Cartels silence regular media
Threats from cartels towards media outlets have forced many of them to stop reporting on the drug violence
Newspaper where Maria Macias worked wrote only a small story and did not mention her name
Social Media’s Impact
• Mexico has seen rapid increase in internet and Twitter usage
• Social media has become an important tool for finding out the facts quickly
• Citizens in different cities use hashtags to connect and organize information
-New America Media, Sept. 16th, 2011
“The message could not have been clearer had it been sent over Twitter: the drug cartels recognize that, in addition to battling the Mexican Army, they are now battling the tens of millions of Mexican citizens with Twitter and Facebook accounts.”
Pros & Cons
Gets people the information they need
Instant updates
Potential to save lives
Not always reliable
The cartels can use the social media sites too
Puts user at risk
Further Research• Continue to monitor news stories
• Effectiveness and impact of hashtags
• Evaluate what is best use of social media
going forward
Thank YouQuestions?