Guatemala: Social networks have become a tool to disinform and strengthen the criminasaliton of defenders, according to report
"Weaponising social media: How Indigenous leaders and climate activists are smeared and criminalised in Guatemala", 11 March 2026
...Indigenous leaders who protested against efforts to overturn Guatemala's 2023 election results now face a wave of criminalisation and attacks on social media
Luis Pacheco had served as Guatemala’s deputy energy minister for eight months when police came to his home and arrested him on charges of terrorism and sedition.
A Maya K’iche’ leader from the country’s forest-cloaked western highlands, his detention in April was the first in a wave of arrests of Indigenous leaders through 2025, ahead of critical judicial elections the following year.
Both before and after his arrest, thousands of posts on Facebook, X and TikTok accused Pacheco of money laundering, terrorism, corruption, and conspiring with foreign powers to commit electoral fraud.
Some posts came from accounts notorious for spreading fake news with tens or hundreds of thousands of followers.
Others came from anonymous accounts, including one named Yes, Master!, known for coordinating with the country’s public prosecution service to persecute human rights defenders.
And others came from members of Guatemala’s military or political elite...
“Social networks have become a tool to disinform and strengthen our criminalisation,” he said.
“These attacks make people question our motives. They create doubts in our communities and people replicate the smears. They make it easier to damage our reputations and to criminalise us.”
Facebook, used by almost 80% of adults in Guatemala at the start of 2025, is a key vector for these attacks. They are also widespread on TikTok, which has seen rapid growth to become Guatemala’s most popular social media platform, used by 89% of adults. And attacks are also common on X, used by around 7.5% of the country’s adult population...
Alongside criminal charges, all these leaders and their organisations have suffered sustained attacks on social media, smearing them as criminals, terrorists, traitors and guerrillas...
“The social media attacks try [to] undermine our authority, to break our unity and support from the people.”
Alongside direct accusations of terrorism and criminality, posts on various anonymous accounts and supposed local news pages claimed protesting Indigenous authorities acted as puppets of foreign interests, particularly the US and EU...