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Drug Dealers Have Moved on to Social Media
The marketing of illegal drugs on open platforms is “gaining prominence,” authorities note, while the number of drug transactions on the darkweb has decreased in recent years.
The proliferation of open drug dealing on Instagram, Snapchat, and X—as well as on encrypted messaging platforms Telegram and WhatsApp—has transformed the fabric of illegal substance procurement, gradually making it more convenient, and arguably safer, for consumers, who can receive packages in the mail without meeting people on street corners or going through the rigmarole of the dark web. The menus provided by dealers through messaging apps and on social media are often lengthy and diverse, featuring prized varieties advertised for their purity and sold at significantly lower costs than equivalents available on the streets of London and New York. To the UNODC, this suggests “an increase in wholesale activities” on the dark web—though this could also reflect consumers who buy smaller quantities shifting from the darknet to the clearnet and encrypted messaging apps.
Or read this on Wired
