Playa del Carmen, Q.R. — Playa del Carmen City Council is considering legal action against people who spread fake news. City Council Secretary General Luis Herrera Quiam says they are looking into filing legal complaints against several individuals who have knowingly spread false news.
He says the fake news was posted to social media with the apparent intention of confusing citizens and destabilizing the municipal administration. According to Herrera Quiam, the city is currently collecting the misleading content in coordination with Cyber Police.
“We are documenting all the false information circulating and are not ruling out legal action if it is proven that there is an intent to manipulate or cause harm,” he said.
Among the cases detected, Herrera Quiam mentioned publications that falsely place the mayor at events where she was not present. He said the false news also includes images of violence from other states posted to have happened in Playa del Carmen.
His comment refers to a photo circulating on social media earlier this week of the remains of a person. The poster of the photo, an in-state media, claimed it was the remains of a body found in the Palmas I residential subdivision of Playa del Carmen.
The day after its release, the Playa del Carmen Citizen Security Secretariat (SSC) said the social media post was false. They clarified that “the images used are from an event that occurred in the state of Chiapas in July 2024 and have no connection to our municipality.”
Herrera Quiam says other forms of fake news include the recent rumors of the city’s failure to pay bonuses to Public Security officers, which he clarified, have already been addressed.
“When necessary, we will publicly deny any content that seeks to spread disinformation or create instability,” he said.
