Introduction
The tragic assassination of Carlos Manzo has once again exposed the dark side of Mexican society, as evidenced by a personal observation shared on social media platform X.
The Triggering Message
A non-aggressive, non-partisan message describing the grim reality of Mexico’s violence and political landscape sparked a wave of insults on X. The tweet read:
De nueva cuenta, X mostró lo peor de la sociedad mexicana. Bastó un mensaje mío —ni agresivo ni partidista— para despertar una ola de insultos. El tuit decía:
"El asesinato de Carlos Manzo revela tres tragedias: un país insensible a la violencia, unas redes que linchan sin saber y una clase política incapaz de sentir. En México, la sinceridad es resistencia y la empatía un lujo que casi nadie puede pagar."
— Eduardo J Ruiz-Healy May 1, 2020
This message, far from inciting hatred or attacking anyone, was met with fury on X, where any message that doesn’t scream is ignored or attacked. The message reached only 6,000 people, a minuscule number compared to the millions who saw inflammatory posts.
The Manzo Case: A Catalyst for Misinformation and Political Exploitation
The assassination of Manzo quickly turned into a political narrative, with legitimate indignation intertwined with lies and conspiracy theories. Claudia Sheinbaum, Mexico City’s head of government, was falsely accused of ignoring threats or being complicit in the crime. The most widespread falsehood claimed Manzo lacked federal or state protection, when in fact he had Guardia Nacional and local security.
Grok, X’s AI system, analyzed over 100 viral posts about Manzo’s assassination between November 1 and 3. Only messages with more than 100 interactions were considered, grouped by hashtags and keywords. The results showed that nearly 80% expressed explicit hatred towards the president and her government. Hashtags like #SheinbaumAsesina, #FueraSheinbaum, and #RenunciaClaudia gathered hundreds of thousands of mentions.
The hate messages, making up 75-80% of the total, reached an estimated 15-25 million people in just 48 hours.
The Dynamics of Hate and Indifference to Empathy
Grok detected insults, threats, and baseless accusations. Opponents dominated the conversation while supporters barely asked for non-politicization. There were no nuances, only sides.
While tweets calling for justice garnered a few thousand views, those demanding revenge reached millions. Aggressive tweets against Sheinbaum received ten times more interactions than informative ones, showing that X rewards anger.
The original message, however, didn’t serve to fight or create spectacle. It was invisible because it appealed to empathy, a rare value in the networks and increasingly scarce in public life. In Mexico, sincerity is penalized rather than rewarded.
The Manzo Case: A Symbol of Mexico’s Moral Fracture
The Manzo case reveals that digital lynching has become a form of belonging in a country where local leaders, journalists, and women are killed daily. Empathy is perceived as weakness, and the loss of human touch shows a moral fracture where indignation is confused with hatred.
X has become a moral barometer for a furious nation, measuring the temperature of hatred and amplifying resentment. Amidst this fury, truth becomes a whisper. Speaking the truth without shouting is, for now, an act of courage.
For more context and materials, visit: ruizhealy.substack.com
Key Questions and Answers
- What was the triggering event? A non-aggressive, non-partisan tweet describing Mexico’s violence and political landscape.
- What were the false claims surrounding Manzo’s assassination? That he lacked federal or state protection, when in fact he had Guardia Nacional and local security.
- What percentage of messages expressed hate towards the president and her government? Nearly 80%.
- How many people were estimated to have seen the hate messages? Between 15 and 25 million people in just 48 hours.
- What is the significance of empathy in this context? Empathy is rare and penalized in Mexican society, contributing to the moral fracture.
