Author(s)

Siria Gastelum Felix

Darwin Franco

Posted on 28 Sep 2026

The spread of fake news and the rise of artificial intelligence have placed journalists the world over at an unprecedented crossroads. Trust in factual information has declined, while fake news has become a weapon in political and social disputes. At the same time, artificial intelligence can generate images, voices, audio recordings and texts capable of convincingly depicting events that never ocurred.

For criminal groups, the value of these tactics lies not only in deceiving the public. The widespread circulation of false information can exaggerate perceptions of their power, make it more difficult to establish what is really happening in a particular area, overwhelm information channels and force journalists, authorities and the public to respond to events that never took place.

Disinformation becomes a tool for managing uncertainty: the harder it is to distinguish between genuine threats and fabricated ones, the greater the ability of criminal actors – or those acting on their behalf – to shape behaviour, control narratives and challenge the credibility of journalistic and official sources.

Mexico is currently one of the world’s deadliest countries for journalists. In 2026 alone, eight journalists have been murdered so far. Since the year 2000, more than 180 journalists have been murdered in Mexico because of their work. The 2025 Global Organized Crime Index highlights how the infiltration of state structures by criminal groups, widespread impunity, and attacks on journalists by both criminal organizations and state actors are undermining the country’s resilience to organized crime.

Yet this violence does not occur in isolation. In areas where organized crime exercises varying degrees of territorial, economic and social control, the precarious state of many newsrooms, restrictions on access to information and declining public trust can all weaken the ability of journalists and media outlets to document and investigate criminal activity. The issue, therefore, is not simply that journalists become victims of criminal violence. Rather, a range of vulnerabilities can enable criminal groups to restrict, influence or undermine the media’s capacity to report on them.

While this is by no means unique to Mexico, and instead reflects a global challenge, the consequences in the Mexican context are particularly concerning, especially for those covering organized crime. Whereas intimidation was once primarily aimed at preventing journalists from publishing information, criminal actors can now actively contest information already in circulation, discredit sources, amplify their own narratives and generate content that makes it harder for journalists and communities alike to determine what is really happening.

This became particularly evident in February this year following reports of the arrest and killing of Nemesio Oseguera ‘El Mencho’, leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel. Shortly afterwards, videos and photographs generated using artificial intelligence, allegedly by criminal groups, began circulating on social media. Within hours, this content had gone viral, fuelling confusion and uncertainty, spreading fear and disrupting daily life in entire communities. The images purported to show dozens of burnt-out vehicles, destroyed shops and even Guadalajara International Airport under attack by organized crime. Although the material was later proven to be fake, it was initially reported as genuine by a number of journalists and media outlets, both local and international.

The problem was not merely that some media organizations repeated false information. The circulation of this content created an environment in which it became difficult to distinguish reality from fabrication, amplified perceptions of criminal groups’ ability to bring entire regions to a standstill, and diverted public attention towards events that never occurred. For journalists attempting to report on developments, this meant competing with a torrent of content spreading far more quickly than verified information. In this way, disinformation not only shaped public perceptions; it also altered the conditions under which reporting on organized crime could take place.

This case illustrates a particularly significant aspect of the relationship between organized crime, technology and journalism: the ability to create uncertainty itself can become a form of power. When communities can no longer distinguish with confidence between genuine and fabricated threats, when media organizations must devote scarce resources to verifying events that never happened, and when journalistic and official sources lose authority in the face of viral content, society’s collective ability to understand and respond to events on the ground is weakened.

The challenge, therefore, extends beyond protecting those who investigate organized crime from physical violence. It also requires recognizing how the deliberate creation of uncertainty is emerging as a new form of criminal influence. Understanding the criminal dynamics and political conditions underpinning a conflict is no longer enough. Today, it is equally important to understand the information and digital ecosystem in which criminal groups operate, both to safeguard the integrity of the information we consume and those who report it.

The GI-TOC Resilience Fund is speaking to its 2026 Fellows to better understand what it means to be a journalist in Mexico today. We are exploring how journalists navigate violence, disinformation and new forms of digital manipulation, as well as the strategies they use to verify information, protect their investigations and maintain their ability to report from areas affected by organized crime. If you are a journalist covering organized crime and would like to share your experience, please contact us at: fellowship@globalinitiative.net