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Smugglers are using TikTok, Instagram to dupe Americans into smuggling migrants
news.movim.eu / ArsTechnica · Thursday, 20 October, 2022 - 16:28
Sometimes attracting drivers as young as 14 with emoji-filled posts that promise thousands of dollars “for just a few hours of driving,” smugglers often rely on social media to recruit Americans to help migrants illegally cross the US-Mexico border, The Wall Street Journal reported .
Popular platforms like Instagram, WhatsApp, Snapchat, TikTok, and Twitter all told the WSJ that they prohibit these posts. However, the Journal talked to local and federal law-enforcement officials, as well as defense attorneys for Americans recruited on social media, who confirmed that despite those bans, the trend is “increasingly common.”
When contacted by Ars, a Twitter spokesperson pointed out that the Journal's report didn't include specific examples of this activity happening on the platform. The spokesperson linked to Twitter's Transparency Center , where the company tracks reports on this content.