The Puerto del Rosario Town Hall denounces the spread of a hoax by an influencer who labelled the city as the 'epicentre of cocaine trafficking in the Canary Islands' to promote his book. The local corporation demands respect and warns that these claims severely damage the municipality's image.
The capital of Fuerteventura, Puerto del Rosario, has been the subject of a viral controversy after a well-known influencer published a video in which he described it as the “epicentre of cocaine trafficking in the Canary Islands” and home to an aggressive gang called Los Jacosos, dedicated to extortion and violent assaults on tourist bungalows. All of this, it has emerged, was part of a marketing strategy to promote a book by the content creator.
The video, shared four days ago on social media, began with a warning: “I feel a moral obligation to do this now that we are in summer. If any of you are around, try to avoid this place.” Immediately after, the influencer made a series of false claims about the city's danger, which have sparked outrage among residents and the Town Hall.
The Puerto del Rosario Town Hall has issued a statement denouncing the campaign for “severely damaging the municipality's image.” In the statement, the local corporation describes it as “absolutely unacceptable” to use a “false, sensationalist, and deeply offensive image” of the capital of Fuerteventura solely to promote a publication.
“Behind the name of Puerto del Rosario are thousands of residents who build an open, hardworking, and welcoming city every day, as well as hundreds of businesses, shops, and professionals who strive to present the best image of the municipality,” the statement emphasises. The Town Hall adds that “no marketing strategy can justify discrediting an entire community with false or manipulated claims.”
The Town Hall also warns that “freedom of expression cannot become an excuse to spread messages that degrade the image of a city and an entire community for purely commercial purposes.” For this reason, they demand “maximum respect for Puerto del Rosario and for the people who are part of this municipality.”
The influencer, a regular collaborator with Los40, responded hours later with another video in which he defends his previous post. In it, he claims that his intention was not to offend and that it was a promotional strategy. However, the controversy continues to grow on social media, where many users criticise the content creator's lack of ethics.
This case highlights an increasingly common practice among some influencers: the dissemination of hoaxes or false information to capture attention and generate virality, before revealing the truth at the end of the video. In this instance, the strategy has backfired, causing discontent among an entire community and institutional condemnation.
Puerto del Rosario, with around 43,000 inhabitants, is the capital of Fuerteventura and an important tourist destination. Local authorities have reiterated that the city is safe and that the influencer's claims lack any foundation. Legal action against the content creator for the damage caused to the municipality's image is not ruled out.
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