The Mexican government denounced on Wednesday a disinformation campaign that followed the death of the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, during which between 200 and 500 posts containing false information were disseminated to exaggerate the wave of violence unleashed by the criminal group and to create fear. Between 20 and 30 of these posts garnered over 100,000 views.
During the presidential press conference, a video was presented, supported in part by data from a study conducted by the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM)—a private university—which revealed that between 35 and 40 percent of the content disseminated, mostly on Sunday following the operation that killed Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes (alias "El Mencho") was taken out of context; more than a quarter contained misleading information; and approximately another quarter was fabricated or manipulated using artificial intelligence.
The wave of violence that followed the military action was real. The government acknowledged more than 70 deaths, including criminals, security forces, and others, and more than 250 roadblocks in 20 states. Both Mexican authorities and many diplomatic missions, beginning with the United States, issued calls for their citizens to stay home.
Among the most widely viewed and panic-inducing misinformation were images of the Guadalajara airport supposedly taken over by gunmen, showing stampedes of passengers, a burning plane at the airport, or claims that organized crime had taken American tourists hostage on highways and in hotels.
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