Press / Prensa

Reuters — A Salvadoran twenty-something had been looking for work when an unexpected invitation arrived to sit down with a government official. It was 2019, and the communications specialist was well-versed in social media. Talks with the official led to a $600-a-month job in the capital of San Salvador working for the communications team of President Nayib Bukele, according to the employment contract seen by Reuters.

Göteborgs-Posten — Spioneri och politiska kopplingar till knarkkarteller. Det är bara några av avslöjandena i “Guacamaya leaks” – en massiv läcka släppt av nätaktivister som har hackat latinamerikanska myndigheter. – Jag tror att vi går mot en politisk storm, säger techjournalisten Alberto Escorcia.

BBC — El autodenominado grupo de activistas cibernéticos Guacamaya accedió a los buzones de correo electrónico de la Defensa de México, de donde extrajo millones de piezas de información. Los datos son de alta sensibilidad, aseguran los periodistas que los han visto.

Aftonbladet — Det pågår systematisk valpåverkan i Sverige. Arméer av människor och programvaror använder serverkraft och oredovisade pengar till att förstärka partipolitiska budskap online. De som manipulerar vill ofta betona röster som för fram budskap av främlingsfientlig natur. Men manipulationen sker också i exempelvis kärnkraftsfrågan och lyfter även etablerade partiers budskap.

Reporte Indigo — “…En Estados Unidos y Europa, la regulación de las redes sociales es un tema que ya se encuentra en los parlamentos y congresos para tener políticas que no perjudiquen a los internautas o al gobierno; en México esto es un tema olvidado y con lo ocurrido el 4 de octubre, ningún político del país se ha pronunciado al respecto, asevera Escorcia…”

International Journalists Network — Alberto Escorcia es un ciberactivista mexicano que ha luchado contra estos grupos de cyborgs desde 2010. Como resultado, ha recibido amenazas de muerte hasta el punto de casi verse obligado a abandonar el país. “Los bots llenan las redes sociales con mensajes que apoyan o luchan contra una causa”, explica Escorcia. “Es una tarea de fuerza bruta que se ocupa de inundar las redes sociales, crear trending topics y hacer que parezca real”. Estas plataformas de bots funcionan de una manera muy organizada, colaborando entre cuentas falsas para engañar a los usuarios. “La simulación que crean es masiva”, señala Escorcia. “Muchas veces solo necesitas miles de bots comentando o compartiendo el mismo contenido, y alguien pensará que es legítimo, incluso si no tiene sentido”.

NHK — The first is a fight against the flooded lie information “fake”. Incidents in which innocent young people are killed by citizens who believed in “fake” and the spread of fake pornographic videos that they do not remember due to the latest technology “deepfake” using AI have occurred all over the world. At the scene of the election, “fake” flies around aiming at public opinion manipulation. What can we do in an era when only the information we want to believe is believed and the “truth” fluctuates? The series icon is Naomi Watanabe. Experience the realism of being at the mercy of digital!

Foreign Policy Magazine — The last five years of social media-fueled populism around the world have been defined by former U.S. President Donald Trump and his imitators-but since he left office, things have begun to shift. The overtly nationalist 4chan-led online political movements that helped radicalize countries like the United States, Brazil, India, the Philippines, and the United Kingdom haven’t disappeared, but they’re regrouping away from the cultural spotlight.

The Guardian — Alberto Escorcia is a social media wizard and has helped coordinate some of the largest anti-corruption protests in Mexico over the last half decade. He and his friends started with pranks to provoke the police: after students were beaten by police officers, they went on silent marches and staged lie-ins, where they stretched out supine on the street, blocking the road. In time, he realised that if he knew in advance which subjects brought people together, and which words strengthened the interconnections between people, he would be able to “summon up” and strengthen protests.

Bloomberg News — Two years ago, investigative journalist and activist Alberto Escorcia began documenting one of Mexico’s unique contributions to trolling: loosely organized youth gangs that former members told Escorcia are paid to stage virtual hate-mob attacks on journalists or activists who confront the government. With monikers such as the Holk Legion, the gangs are organized like the region’s infamous drug cartels, Escorcia said.

BBC — Escorcia dice que los mensajes emitidos por bots contra Gómez fueron principalmente ataques basados en el hecho de que fuera mujer. “Hubo una clara tendencia negativa en los últimos días de las elecciones para la candidata de izquierda (Gómez) y probablemente eso tuvo un impacto”, explica. Para Escorcia, el análisis y rastreo de bots se ha convertido en algo que implica un riesgo personal. Dice que ha recibido amenazas de muerte por su trabajo y que se ha marchado de México para no estar allí el 1 de julio.

Fast Company — “There is a lot of examples but the most recent and important to me is when Obama [visited Mexico in 2014] and bots erased all the [Twitter trending topics] protesting against the visit,” says Alberto Escorcia, an activist who has tracked Mexican political influence bots since 2012, in an email to Fast Company. “And [then] last January when the people were protesting against the increase of gasoline and oil prices.”

VICE — How an army of Twitter trolls is invading Mexico’s democratic process. Alberto Escorcia first noticed the bots in 2010. Escorcia, a seasoned Mexican internet activist, had been thumbing through his Twitter feed, when he noticed several accounts posting derogatory messages at supporters of a national electricians’ union strike.

Medium — By Tanya O’Carroll, Adviser on Technology and Human Rights ( @TanyaOCarroll). Interview with Alberto Escorcia (@LoQueSigue_). With investigations by Daniel Santos . It´s a bright winter day and we´re seated at the plastic tables in a coffee shop in downtown Mexico City, Alberto´s choice of venue.

WIRED Magazine — Gallagher and LoQueSigue blogger Alberto Escorcia say the bots have followed protesters from hashtag to hashtag over the past few months, drowning out real conversations with noise. They’ve also seen similar bots create fake hashtags in apparent attempts to push real hashtags out of Twitter’s trending list, spread anti-protest messages, and even send death threats to specific activists.

CNN en Español — El experto en redes sociales Alberto Escorcia se dio cuenta que a través de lo que llamó una “operación muy organizada” desapareció la etiqueta. Según Escorcia, usan bots el objetivo, para desaparecer este tipo de tendencias incómodas, como los de este caso o los relacionados con los 43 de Ayotzinapa y el movimiento #YoSoy132. El objetivo: deluir la tendencia.

The New York Times — Alberto Escorcia, a protest leader, is helping to organize a social media campaign to keep up awareness of the missing students. “I see a self-absorbed president and a self-absorbed first couple, who cannot see this frustration and anger is not only against them, but against an entire system,” he said.