A recent report published in Italy reveals the high degree of penetration of mafias in this country in social networks such as TikTok and Instagram. They use them to flaunt their wealth, but also to recruit followers and carry out illicit financial transactions with techniques that challenge the authorities.
There are more and more gangsters in the digital world. In Italy, the first report on the presence of organized crime on social networks, such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, has been published. Foundation Research Magna Greece title “Mafias in the digital age” confirms that he has reached the fourth generation of gangsters who use these tools. Today, the report says, Mafias use networks to display their wealth, threaten their enemies, communicate with each other, but also to recruit new followers or measure consensus.
the sociologist Marcello Ravveduto tells RFI that “the fourth generation coincides with the creation of the TikTok platform which, after a period of transition with Instagram, allowed them to give a new image of the mafia”. TikTok would be like the height of self-celebration according to this specialist.
Ravveduto is in fact the one who was in charge of the investigation presented last March in Rome and explains that the gangsters define themselves through the digital world : They show off their expensive cars and flaunt the luxuries they live in, like successful people, even though they are criminals. They are actually a mafia that aspires to be an influencer. “The difference – warns the sociologist – is that if influencers put themselves forward to sponsor products, these mafia influencers promote brands and luxury, but promote the mafia itself.
Segmented secret codes
The mafias, or the sons of the bosses, cultivate propaganda and its content feeds it. It is a phenomenon that explains at RFI Maurizio Vallone head of the Italian directorate of anti-mafia investigations, which points out that they use schemes and coded language in the networks to communicate or conduct criminal transactions. “They are also digital gangsters,” says Vallone. “They are the ones who use the networks as a means of payment. They do this by sending, for example, a piece of code on a social network, another on another, etc. This prevents that, if part of the code is intercepted, the complete code cannot be obtained”.
But even if it may seem illogical, the police also see an advantage in the presence of the mafias in the networks: since they are on the Internet, the security forces have easier access to a world hitherto hidden.
Source: Latercera
I am David Jack and I have been working in the news industry for over 10 years. As an experienced journalist, I specialize in covering sports news with a focus on golf. My articles have been published by some of the most respected publications in the world including The New York Times and Sports Illustrated.
