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?