Sol de Pando Facebook page removed following cyberattack

The Facebook page of the media outlet Sol de Pando has been removed following what the organization describes as a coordinated cyberattack. The outlet reports that for over a month, its content was vandalized by a massive influx of bots. The final escalation occurred on September 7, when bots allegedly used a malicious application to claim authorship of the outlet’s own reports, leading Meta to block the page for over 50 instances of copyright infringement.

Sol de Pando states this attack coincided with their investigation into the criminal activities of Argentine mercenary Fernando Cerimedo in Bolivia. The investigation initially focused on Cerimedo’s alleged use of bot farms to manipulate electoral results and his involvement in cryptocurrency operations. The outlet further claims that Cerimedo’s activities pose a threat to Bolivian democracy and governance, alleging his involvement in criminal networks and connections to members of the Bolivian Police.