El Colmex study identifies 100 TikTok profiles using promises, emojis, and music to promote criminal recruitment – April 15, 2025

Around 100 TikTok accounts are linked to criminal recruitment activities, criminal propaganda, weapons sales, and human trafficking in Mexico and Central America. Common content patterns include job promises, specific emojis, hashtags, and music. The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) is leading the use of this social media platform as a recruitment tool, according to the study New Frontiers in Digital Recruitment.

The research, led by the Violence and Peace Seminar at El Colegio de México—in collaboration with the Civic A.I. Lab at Northeastern University—offers a snapshot of criminal behaviour on TikTok. It shows how organised crime is using the platform to attract new members, build identity and community, and offer promises of belonging.

...Multiple disappearances of young people in Mexico have been linked to fraudulent job offers they found on social media...

The study ultimately concludes that social networks have become fertile ground for criminal organisations. In a context of increasing violence and competition—both among criminal groups and against the state—these groups have sought to reach out to young people and recruit them into their ranks.