Human Rights Watch says Facebook and TikTok helped spread child-recruitment posts by Colombian rebels

Human Rights Watch says Facebook and TikTok failed to stop the spread of online material produced by Colombian armed groups that seeks to recruit minors, and that the platforms sometimes appeared to amplify such content. The NGO notes that the posts portray rebel life as glamorous and promote false employment offers, contributing to the recruitment of roughly 1,500 children since 2021. Indigenous children, who make up about four percent of the national population, represent nearly half of those recruited, while girls constitute around 40 percent and face heightened risk of sexual abuse.

Images showing rebels flaunting cash, jewelry, training camps, or listening to narcocorridos have been accompanied by comments from users asking how to join. Dissident groups emerging from the defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia are linked to 74 percent of the cases recorded between 2021 and 2025. Meta and ByteDance claim they have taken down the specific posts and are continuously refining their approaches to block illegal recruitment on their services. The report arrives as President Abelardo de la Espriella pledges a crackdown on remaining armed factions and seeks new security partnerships.