Blog del Narco: Difference between revisions
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An anonymous computer security student in his 20s from northern Mexico began the website in March 2010 as a hobby.<ref name="Daily">"[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1302780/Blog-del-Narco-Computer-student-voice-Mexican-drug-war.html The REAL City of God: Student risks his life documenting Mexico's drug war in gritty, blood-soaked blog]." ''[[The Daily Mail]]''. August 14, 2010. Retrieved on February 15, 2011.</ref> The author said that he created the website because the [[Government of Mexico]] is not reporting on the event and is trying to pretend that "nothing is happening."<ref name="Ackerman">Ackerman, Spencer. "[http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/09/mexicos-top-narco-blogger-comes-forward/ Mexico’s Top Narco-Blogger Comes Forward]." ''[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]''. September 14, 2010. Retrieved on February 15, 2011.</ref> |
An anonymous computer security student in his 20s from northern Mexico began the website in March 2010 as a hobby.<ref name="Daily">"[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1302780/Blog-del-Narco-Computer-student-voice-Mexican-drug-war.html The REAL City of God: Student risks his life documenting Mexico's drug war in gritty, blood-soaked blog]." ''[[The Daily Mail]]''. August 14, 2010. Retrieved on February 15, 2011.</ref> The author said that he created the website because the [[Government of Mexico]] is not reporting on the event and is trying to pretend that "nothing is happening."<ref name="Ackerman">Ackerman, Spencer. "[http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/09/mexicos-top-narco-blogger-comes-forward/ Mexico’s Top Narco-Blogger Comes Forward]." ''[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]''. September 14, 2010. Retrieved on February 15, 2011.</ref> |
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The author spends four hours per day working on the website. To deal with the increased workload, he asked a friend to help him. According to the author, the blog posts all cartel-related media, regardless of the cartel affiliation or content.<ref name="Daily"/> Spencer Ackerman of ''[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]'' said "Even if you don’t read [[Spanish language|Spanish]] (like me), the images on Blog Del Narco tell the gruesome story. Old, wealthy men held hostage and humiliated. Paramilitary cops in ski masks taking dudes into custody. People walking the streets in body armor, automatic weapons out. Then there’s all the dead bodies and shot-up cars."<ref name="Ackerman"/> Some of the videos posted on the website show incidents of murder and torture.<ref name="Mistaken">"[http://www.sify.com/news/man-mistaken-for-drug-cartel-boss-to-sue-government-news-international-lbylkfhdghc.html Man mistaken for drug cartel boss to sue government]." ''[[Sify News]]''. January 24, 2011. Retrieved on February 15, 2011.</ref> |
The author spends four hours per day working on the website. To deal with the increased workload, he asked a friend to help him. According to the author, the blog posts all cartel-related media, regardless of the cartel affiliation or content.<ref name="Daily"/> Spencer Ackerman of ''[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]'' said "Even if you don’t read [[Spanish language|Spanish]] (like me), the images on Blog Del Narco tell the gruesome story. Old, wealthy men held hostage and humiliated. Paramilitary cops in ski masks taking dudes into custody. People walking the streets in body armor, automatic weapons out. Then there’s all the dead bodies and shot-up cars."<ref name="Ackerman"/> Jo Tuckman of ''[[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]]'' said that the website's contents are catalog "a catalogue of horror absent even from the national press, which still covers the violence from the relative safety of its headquarters in the capital."<ref name="Tuckman">Tuckman, Jo. "[http://archives.dawn.com/archives/5765 Mexico’s drug war — told in tweets and whispers]." ''[[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]]''. Tuesday September 28, 2010. Retrieved on February 15, 2010.</ref> Some of the videos posted on the website show incidents of murder and torture.<ref name="Mistaken">"[http://www.sify.com/news/man-mistaken-for-drug-cartel-boss-to-sue-government-news-international-lbylkfhdghc.html Man mistaken for drug cartel boss to sue government]." ''[[Sify News]]''. January 24, 2011. Retrieved on February 15, 2011.</ref> In Mexico many traditional journalistic outlets received harrassment due to stories they publish, so anonymous blogs like Blog del Narco have taken the role of reporting on events related to the drug war.<ref name="Tuckman"/> |
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==Reception== |
==Reception== |
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Revision as of 00:10, 16 February 2011
Blog del Narco is a blog that documents events and people of the Mexican Drug War.
An anonymous computer security student in his 20s from northern Mexico began the website in March 2010 as a hobby.[1] The author said that he created the website because the Government of Mexico is not reporting on the event and is trying to pretend that "nothing is happening."[2]
The author spends four hours per day working on the website. To deal with the increased workload, he asked a friend to help him. According to the author, the blog posts all cartel-related media, regardless of the cartel affiliation or content.[1] Spencer Ackerman of Wired said "Even if you don’t read Spanish (like me), the images on Blog Del Narco tell the gruesome story. Old, wealthy men held hostage and humiliated. Paramilitary cops in ski masks taking dudes into custody. People walking the streets in body armor, automatic weapons out. Then there’s all the dead bodies and shot-up cars."[2] Jo Tuckman of Dawn said that the website's contents are catalog "a catalogue of horror absent even from the national press, which still covers the violence from the relative safety of its headquarters in the capital."[3] Some of the videos posted on the website show incidents of murder and torture.[4] In Mexico many traditional journalistic outlets received harrassment due to stories they publish, so anonymous blogs like Blog del Narco have taken the role of reporting on events related to the drug war.[3]
Reception
The Daily Mail said "Blog del Narco has become an internet sensation." By August 2010 hundreds of posts occured each day.[1] As of August 2010 the blog had over 7,300 followers on Facebook and Twitter. Among the followers were Mexican media organizations, the Secretariat of National Defense, CNN, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the United States.[1] As of September 2010 the blog had three million unique monthly views.[2] By 2011 it became one of the most visited websites in Mexico.[4]
The author of the blog said that he is doing a service by publishing sensitive details about the Mexican Drug War that journalist organizations in Mexico are hesitant to publish, for fear of retaliation. The blogger said "For the scanty details that they (mass media) put on television, they get grenades thrown at them and their reporters kidnapped. We publish everything. Imagine what they could do to us." Carlos Lauria of the Committee to Protect Journalists criticized the website, saying that it was "produced by someone who is not doing it from a journalistic perspective. He is doing it without ethical considerations." Many critics said that the blog provides free public relations for the cartel groups.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e "The REAL City of God: Student risks his life documenting Mexico's drug war in gritty, blood-soaked blog." The Daily Mail. August 14, 2010. Retrieved on February 15, 2011.
- ^ a b c Ackerman, Spencer. "Mexico’s Top Narco-Blogger Comes Forward." Wired. September 14, 2010. Retrieved on February 15, 2011.
- ^ a b Tuckman, Jo. "Mexico’s drug war — told in tweets and whispers." Dawn. Tuesday September 28, 2010. Retrieved on February 15, 2010.
- ^ a b "Man mistaken for drug cartel boss to sue government." Sify News. January 24, 2011. Retrieved on February 15, 2011.
External links
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- Blog del Narco Template:Es icon
- "Leaking secrets, leaking blood." Boing Boing interview with the author of Blog del Narco