False news shook social networks in Latin America on Monday: from the official account of Santiago Peñapresident of Paraguay, an alleged announcement was published on the adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender In the country. The message, written with institutional tone and disseminated through X (ex twitter)was quickly denied by the presidency, which confirmed that the president’s account was hacked.
The content of the message referred to a “historical decision” that supposedly implied a National Reserve of U $ S5 million in Bitcoin. According to the apocryphal text, the objective of this measure would be to reduce the dependence of the US dollar and strengthen the Guaraní. The publication was replicated and commented by hundreds of users before being officially denied.
The Paraguayan government came out to clarify the situation
A few minutes after the content began to viralize, the Presidency of Paraguay He issued an official statement clarifying that the message was not published either by the president or for his communication team, and that it was a unauthorized access To your personal account.
“The official account of President Santiago Peña in the Social Network X has been subject to unauthorized access,” said the presidential spokesperson.
In addition, it was indicated that Certpythe Paraguay computer response center is already intervening on the platform for investigate the origin of the attack and reinforce security of the digital environment of the Head of State.
From the Executive they also urged citizens to Ignore any recent content from the affected accountuntil total control is restored and the authenticity of future publications is verified.
A Fake News that had regional impact
The case soon replicated in international media and generated reactions both inside and outside Paraguay. The use of Bitcoin as legal currency It is a sensitive issue in the region since El Salvador He officially adopted it in 2021, in a controversial decision that generated debates about his economic and financial viability.
In Argentina, where cryptocurrencies also have a high adoption, The false announcement was commented by analysts, tweeters and enthusiasts cryptountil his falsehood was confirmed. The memory of the $ Libra case, scandal in which President Javier Milei himself was involved, did not miss.
This episode puts the risks of misinformation in social networks and the importance of guaranteeing the safety of official accounts of public figures, especially in a context of high polarization and constant circulation of false news.
Cybersecurity, in the center of the debate
The Paraguayan presidency did not detailed whether a specific group is suspected behind the hacking or how account security was violated. However, the incident adds to a long list of attacks on official profiles in different countries, where cybercriminals take advantage of the scope of these accounts for Disseminate fake news, manipulate markets or generate confusion.
In this case, although the message was quickly denied, the reputational damage and the uncertainty that generated evidence the need for more robust policies of institutional cybersecurity throughout the region.
Source: Ambito
