Graphic execution videos from Ecuador spread on X

Graphic images and videos of executions related to an eruption of gang violence in Ecuador are being widely shared on X, according to POLITICO’s analysis of the social network.

Multiple posts viewed hundreds of thousands of times apparently show prisoners brandishing machetes at bound law enforcement officers, while other posts appear to show prison guards being murdered by hanging. At least two of the X accounts sharing the graphic images held verified blue check marks, according to findings from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a London-based think tank. POLITICO could not verify the origin of the content.

Ecuador has been in a state of emergency since Monday after days of violence escalated into an attack by gunmen who broke into a television studio. At least 10 people have died so far this week amid ongoing violence, mass prison riots and the disappearance of jailed criminal boss Adolfo Macías Villamar. Daniel Noboa, the country’s president, called for local criminal gangs to be “neutralized.”

“It’s not like they are hidden at all, they are a simple search away and promoted by accounts with thousands of followers,” said Carlos Hernández-Echevarría, assistant director at Maldita, a Spanish-language fact-checking group. Maldita has also tracked a massive spike in gruesome images and video associated with Ecuador and shared on X.

Much of the violence has played out in real time on the social network, formerly known as Twitter.

That includes social media users co-opting popular hashtags related to the offline violence to share graphic content, a violation of the social media giant’s rules against such illegal material. One of the accounts reviewed by POLITICO had more than 459,000 followers; the execution video shared via the user had received about 115,000 views.

X did not immediately comment, saying in an email to POLITICO: “Busy now, please check back later.” POLITICO found multiple instances of execution videos linked to the Ecuadorian crisis that had been removed by X’s automated content moderation system. Other social networks reviewed by POLITICO, including Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, did not have similar levels of graphic violence shared between users.

It’s not the first time Elon Musk’s social network has failed to respond to the spread of violent content related to major global crises.

In the wake of Hamas’ October 7 attacks on Israel, the platform was also flooded with gruesome content, including executions. Much of that was either fabricated or taken from other wars, although reams of Hamas-related material continues to be shared widely — in defiance of X’s terms of service.

The European Commission is currently investigating X, partly in response to its failure to clamp down on Gaza-related illegal content, under the bloc’s new social media rules. The probe may take up to 18 months to complete; sanctions for violating EU rules can include fines of up to 6 percent of a company’s revenue.