Facebook, TikTok Promoted Colombian Armed Groups' Content to Recruit Children: HRW
Human Rights Watch says at least 1,500 children have been recruited since 2021, as armed groups use social media and false job offers to lure them.
- Human Rights Watch released a report today detailing how Colombian armed groups exploit Facebook and TikTok to recruit children, with platforms failing to effectively detect or remove content glorifying armed group membership.
- Armed groups exploit poverty, social exclusion, and barriers to education to lure children with promises of money and prestige, while intermediaries paid up to US$1,000 per child facilitate recruitment.
- Data reviewed by Human Rights Watch shows at least 1,500 children have been recruited since 2021, with over 30 percent of victims being children between the ages of 10 and 14.
- The Intersectoral Commission lacks enforcement capacity to implement policies, while government efforts remain too limited in scope to match the expanding scale of the problem affecting children and adolescents.
- Human Rights Watch urged President Abelardo de la Espriella to adopt a comprehensive security policy, while recommending social media platforms conduct human rights due diligence to mitigate recruitment risks.
54 Articles
54 Articles
Human Rights Watch is concerned about the increasing recruitment of children by armed groups in Colombia.
Violence linked to armed conflict and drug trafficking in Colombia continues to endanger tens of thousands of children, recruited by armed groups. Social media plays a significant role in this, according to an investigation by Human Rights Watch (HRW) published on Monday, August 24, which accuses Facebook and TikTok of facilitating their recruitment.
Their posts "glorify life in armed groups" and offer "false job opportunities" according to the NGO Human Rights Watch.
Over the six decades of armed conflict, guerrillas and drug traffickers have recruited children and teenagers from disadvantaged backgrounds in the Latin American country. But in recent years, the use of social media has "contributed to a sharp increase in child recruitment," according to HRW, which has documented 1,500 cases since 2021 based on official figures. More than 30% of young people recruited by armed groups are between 10 and 14 years…
Facebook and TikTok are unable to prevent the dissemination of content produced by armed groups in Colombia to recruit minors, according to an NGO.
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