Mexican Cartels Fuel False Violence Reports

After Mexican forces killed Jalisco New Generation leader El Mencho on Sunday, false and exaggerated accounts of violence swept social media, Reuters found. Researchers and officials said many images were false yet shared tens of thousands of times, and that coordinated propaganda—including AI-generated content and narco-influencers—amplified the unrest. Authorities said they identified accounts for investigation, and experts warned misinformation complicated assessing the true scale of violence.