2024-10-01 13:49:29
A recent report titled «The Influencers of War»prepared by the Institute of Development and Peace Studies (Indepaz) together with the organization Pacifisthas revealed an alarming strategy used by illegal armed groups in Colombia to recruit minors, using digital platforms such as TikTok. This phenomenon involves children and adolescents between 8 and 14 yearswho are attracted by content carefully designed to glorify armed struggle and glorify violence.
The investigation revealed that these groups, among which are the Dissidents of the Central General Staff, the Second Marquetalia, the ELN and the Gulf Clanhave migrated part of their propaganda to social networks, mainly TikTok. On this platform, they create short profiles to make it difficult to track them, sharing content that includes videos with popular music, such as guaracha, cumbia, reggaeton and corridos, accompanied by images that glorify the armed life and the sense of belonging to their ranks.
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The videos attract minors through a narrative of power, money and a supposed ideal of struggle, thereby generating curiosity and interest in adolescents. According to the analysis of more than 40 posts on TikTok, some of these have reached more than 90,000 likeshave been saved 6,616 times and have accumulated 1,900 commentsof which more than 100 personas They openly expressed their desire to join armed groups.
The report notes that illegal armed groups using this tactic include the Western Block Jacobo Arenasof the FARC dissidents, and the ELN in departments like Chocó, Nariño and Arauca. In Antiochhe Gulf Clan (Gaitanista Army of Colombia) also makes use of this type of digital recruitment. These groups use social precariousness and the lack of opportunities in vulnerable regions of the country to attract minors.
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The content usually shows armed young people, in camouflage, in rural settings of the country, at local festivities or secluded roads, promoting the idea that joining the ranks of these groups represents a fast track to power and a different life, completely removed from the reality.
The revelation of these recruitment methods raises serious concerns about the impact of social media on youth, especially in rural and marginalized areas of Colombia. The use of platforms like TikTok for these illegal purposes is a challenge for authorities, who will have to implement new monitoring and prevention strategies.