Drug cartels use social media algorithms to recruit Mexican youth
Researchers at Colegio de México analyzed 100 TikTok accounts and found that drug cartels, primarily the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), use social media algorithms to recruit minors through coded language with emojis and corridos tumbados. The cartels exploit algorithmic filter bubbles to reach young people across socioeconomic backgrounds with offers up to 15,000 pesos weekly.
What happened
Researchers from Colegio de México, led by investigator Rodrigo Peña, analyzed 100 TikTok accounts in which drug cartels, primarily the CJNG, developed a 'digital language' using emojis, hashtags and corridos tumbados (a music genre) to recruit minors.
The cartels use coded emoji language where specific symbols are associated with different criminal organizations, such as pizza emoji linked to a Sinaloa Cartel faction and rooster emoji linked to CJNG leader Nemesio Oseguera. Messages sent in the name of criminal groups have been documented, with confirmed cases of young people responding to recruitment offers.
Reported impact
The use of social media algorithms and filter bubbles allows the cartels to reach audiences previously inaccessible to them, reaching youth across different socioeconomic backgrounds and education levels.
Cartels can offer recruited individuals up to 15,000 pesos weekly (875 dollars), compared to Mexico's minimum wage of 315 pesos (18.30 dollars) daily.
Index analysis
Peña noted that violent crime shows significant adaptability to new technologies, with social media algorithms acting as a facilitator that appeals to emotional and identity dimensions of young people.
The algorithmic filter bubbles amplify content beyond national and socioeconomic boundaries, making the cartel recruitment messaging reach diverse audiences not previously targeted by traditional organized crime methods.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.