Chapter 106: Cinematographer

397       started directing a team of professionals Gabriel Labrador, “How Bukele Crafted a Best-Selling Political Brand,” El Faro, May 3, 2022, elfaro.net/en/202205/el_salvador/26155/How-Bukele-Crafted-a-Best-Selling-Political-Brand.htm; and Vera Bergengruen, “How Nayib Bukele’s ‘Iron Fist’ Has Transformed El Salvador,” Time, August 29, 2024, time.com/7015598/nayib-bukeles-iron-fist-el-salvador/. 

397       built one of the largest social media followings in El Salvador Bergengruen, “How Nayib Bukele’s ‘Iron Fist’ Has Transformed El Salvador,” time.com/7015598/nayib-bukeles-iron-fist-el-salvador/. 

397       clashes with FMLN leaders Bergengruen, “How Nayib Bukele’s ‘Iron Fist’ Has Transformed El Salvador,”time.com/7015598/nayib-bukeles-iron-fist-el-salvador/. 

397       aimed to separate his political brand Bergengruen, “How Nayib Bukele’s ‘Iron Fist’ Has Transformed El Salvador,”time.com/7015598/nayib-bukeles-iron-fist-el-salvador/. 

397       the two major parties that had long ruled El Salvador Aída M. Betancourt Simán, “Bukele Broke the Political Order in El Salvador: Now the Real Work Begins,” Washington Post, February 11, 2019, www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/02/11/bukele-broke-political-order-el-salvador-now-real-work-begins/. 

397       failing to secure enough votes . . . at a municipal council meeting in September 2017 Anne Liedloff, “El Salvador: Expelled by the FMLN, San Salvador’s Mayor Will Run for President,” Latin America Bureau, October 30, 2017, lab.org.uk/el-salvador-san-salvadors-mayor-will-run-for-president-after-fall-out-with-fmln/. 

397       a “witch” and a “damn traitor” and tossed an apple at her face Xochitl Marchelli’s recollection of events, quoted in Cristian Meléndez, “He Threw an Apple at Me and if I Don’t Move Away It Will Fall on My Face: Xotchil Marchelli,” La Prensa Grafica, September 15, 2017, www.laprensagrafica.com/elsalvador/Me-tiro-una-manzana-y-si-no-me-aparto-me-cae-en-el-rostro-Xotchil-Marchelli-20170915-0026.html, via Google Translate.

397       expelled Bukele Liedloff, “El Salvador: Expelled by the FMLN, San Salvador’s Mayor Will Run for President,” lab.org.uk/el-salvador-san-salvadors-mayor-will-run-for-president-after-fall-out-with-fmln/. 

397       established his own political party Bukele announced the establishment of Nuevas Ideas on October 25, 2017. See Nayib Bukele, “Our New Movement,” Facebook, October 25, 2017, www.facebook.com/nayibbukele/videos/1469791213107065/, via Google Translate, archived at archive.today, February 10, 2026 capture, archive.ph/0E21n#selection-913.67-913.81. 

397       “our new movement” Bukele, “Our New Movement,” www.facebook.com/nayibbukele/videos/1469791213107065/, archived at archive.ph/0E21n#selection-913.67-913.81.

397       “the traditional politicians” Daniel Girón, “Nuevas Ideas || Nayib Bukele,” YouTube, October 25, 2017, youtu.be/Z067IEs9OBI?si=-krYycrtWhzAmCpR, 0:08–0:09, via Google Translate. This is a YouTube upload of Bukele, “Our New Movement,” www.facebook.com/nayibbukele/videos/1469791213107065/, with a translatable transcription. 

397       “finance themselves with dirty money” Girón, “Nuevas Ideas || Nayib Bukele,” youtu.be/Z067IEs9OBI?si=-krYycrtWhzAmCpR, 4:14–4:16.

397       “a real, horizontal movement” Girón, “Nuevas Ideas || Nayib Bukele,” youtu.be/Z067IEs9OBI?si=-krYycrtWhzAmCpR, 6:40–6:42 

397       “those millions of Salvadorans who want change for our country” Girón, “Nuevas Ideas || Nayib Bukele,” youtu.be/Z067IEs9OBI?si=-krYycrtWhzAmCpR, 7:15–7:18

397       “There’s enough money to go around . . .” Bukele quoted in Jonathan Blitzer, “The Rise of Nayib Bukele, El Salvador’s Authoritarian President,” New Yorker, September 5, 2022, www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/09/12/the-rise-of-nayib-bukele-el-salvadors-authoritarian-president. 

398      tied . . . to the corruption of past presidents . . . Blitzer, “The Rise of Nayib Bukele, El Salvador’s Authoritarian President,” www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/09/12/the-rise-of-nayib-bukele-el-salvadors-authoritarian-president; and Associated Press, “El Salvador: Anti-Corruption Candidate Nayib Bukele Wins Presidential Election,” The Guardian, February 3, 2019, www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/04/el-salvador-anti-corruption-candidate-nayib-bukele-wins-presidential-election. 

398      almost 54 percent Gene Palumbo and Elisabeth Malkin, “Nayib Bukele, an Outsider Candidate, Claims Victory in El Salvador Election,” New York Times, February 3, 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/02/03/world/americas/salvador-bukele-election.html. 

398      the nation’s youngest head of state Diego Oré and Nelson Renteria, “Nayib Bukele: The Tough-on-Crime Former Ad Man Set to Secure New El Salvador Term,” Reuters, February 1, 2024, www.reuters.com/world/americas/nayib-bukele-tough-on-crime-former-ad-man-set-secure-new-el-salvador-term-2024-02-01/.   

398      Around twenty young, tech-savvy Salvadorans Sarah Kinosian, “Trolls, Propaganda and Fear Stoke Bukele’s Media Machine in El Salvador,” Reuters, November 29, 2022,” www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/el-salvador-politics-media/.

398      some of whom . . .worked out of a house in a residential neighborhood Kinosian, “Trolls, Propaganda and Fear Stoke Bukele’s Media Machine in El Salvador,” www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/el-salvador-politics-media/.

398      created hundreds of sock puppets . . . accounts Kinosian, “Trolls, Propaganda and Fear Stoke Bukele’s Media Machine in El Salvador,” www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/el-salvador-politics-media/. On “sock puppets,” or puppet accounts, see also Jane Esberg, “All the President’s Trolls: Real and Fake Twitter Fights in El Salvador,” commentary, International Crisis Group, July 13, 2020, www.crisisgroup.org/latin-america-caribbean/el-salvador/all-presidents-trolls-real-and-fake-twitter-fights-el-salvador. 

398      followed Bukele Kinosian, “Trolls, Propaganda and Fear Stoke Bukele’s Media Machine in El Salvador,” www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/el-salvador-politics-media/.

398      reported . . . to get their accounts suspended Kinosian, “Trolls, Propaganda and Fear Stoke Bukele’s Media Machine in El Salvador,” www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/el-salvador-politics-media/.

398      relied on bots . . . particularly TikTokers and YouTubers Labrador, “How Bukele Crafted a Best-Selling Political Brand,” elfaro.net/en/202205/el_salvador/26155/How-Bukele-Crafted-a-Best-Selling-Political-Brand.htm; Esberg, “All the President’s Trolls: Real and Fake Twitter Fights in El Salvador,” www.crisisgroup.org/latin-america-caribbean/el-salvador/all-presidents-trolls-real-and-fake-twitter-fights-el-salvador; and Megan Janetsky, “As Free Press Withers in El Salvador, Pro-Government Social Media Influencers Grow in Power,” Associated Press (AP) News, Aug 13, 2023, apnews.com/article/bukele-tiktok-youtube-influencers-disinformation-el-salvador-5523937ba0e499af71e7f2ff7e72eeac. 

398      given press credentials . . . traditional journalists are denied access Janetsky, “As Free Press Withers in El Salvador, Pro-Government Social Media Influencers Grow in Power,” apnews.com/article/bukele-tiktok-youtube-influencers-disinformation-el-salvador-5523937ba0e499af71e7f2ff7e72eeac; and Kinosian, “Trolls, Propaganda and Fear Stoke Bukele’s Media Machine in El Salvador,” www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/el-salvador-politics-media/.

398      share . . . and the “blockbuster-quality videos” . . . of police confronting gangs  Janetsky, “Free Press Withers in El Salvador, Pro-Government Social Media Influencers Grow in Power,” apnews.com/article/bukele-tiktok-youtube-influencers-disinformation-el-salvador-5523937ba0e499af71e7f2ff7e72eeac.

398      hundreds of accounts . . . “tens of thousands” . . . at a time U.S. State Department report quoted in Kinosian, “Trolls, Propaganda and Fear Stoke Bukele’s Media Machine in El Salvador,” www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/el-salvador-politics-media/. 

398      allowing Bukele to control . . . which in turn has allowed Bukele to shape . . . Kinosian, “Trolls, Propaganda and Fear Stoke Bukele’s Media Machine in El Salvador,” www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/el-salvador-politics-media/.

398      “firehose of falsehood” Christopher Paul and Miriam Matthews, “The Russian ‘Firehose of Falsehood’ Propaganda Model: Why It Might Work and Options to Counter It,” RAND, July 11, 2016, www.rand.org/pubs/perspectives/PE198.html. 

398      traced . . . to 2008 Paul and Matthews, “The Russian ‘Firehose of Falsehood’ Propaganda Model: Why It Might Work and Options to Counter It,” www.rand.org/pubs/perspectives/PE198.html. 

398      “high numbers of channels and messages” Paul and Matthews, “The Russian ‘Firehose of Falsehood’ Propaganda Model: Why It Might Work and Options to Counter It,” www.rand.org/pubs/perspectives/PE198.html. 

398–399  “a shameless willingness to disseminate . . .” Paul and Matthews, “The Russian ‘Firehose of Falsehood’ Propaganda Model: Why It Might Work and Options to Counter It,” www.rand.org/pubs/perspectives/PE198.html. 

399      “rapid, continuous, and repetitive” Paul and Matthews, “The Russian ‘Firehose of Falsehood’ Propaganda Model: Why It Might Work and Options to Counter It,” www.rand.org/pubs/perspectives/PE198.html. 

399      “first impressions are very resilient” Paul and Matthews, “The Russian ‘Firehose of Falsehood’ Propaganda Model: Why It Might Work and Options to Counter It,” www.rand.org/pubs/perspectives/PE198.html. 

399      “lacks commitment to consistency” Paul and Matthews, “The Russian ‘Firehose of Falsehood’ Propaganda Model: Why It Might Work and Options to Counter It,” www.rand.org/pubs/perspectives/PE198.html. 

399      multiple arguments from multiple sources . . . more persuasive than . . . Paul and Matthews, “The Russian ‘Firehose of Falsehood’ Propaganda Model: Why It Might Work and Options to Counter It,” www.rand.org/pubs/perspectives/PE198.html. 

399      with ties . . . founded the Internet Research Agency Robert S. Mueller, Report on the Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election (hereafter Mueller Report), Vol. 1, March 2019,” www.justice.gov/storage/report_volume1.pdf, 4, 22; and U.S. Senate, Select Committee on Intelligence, Report on Russian Active Measures Campaigns and Interference in the 2016 U.S. Election, Vol. 2: Russia’s Use of Social Media with Additional Views,116th Cong., 1st sess., 2020, www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Report_Volume2.pdf, 15. 

399      drummed up support for Brexit and Trump’s election Matthew Field and Mike Wright, “Russian Trolls Sent Thousands of Pro-Leave Messages on Day of Brexit Referendum, Twitter data reveals,” The Telegraph, October 17, 2018, accessed via Wayback Machine, October 17, 2018 capture, web.archive.org/web/20181017201052/https:/www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2018/10/17/russian-iranian-twitter-trolls-sent-10-million-tweets-fake-news/. 

399      @America_1st_ accumulated 24,000 followers on Twitter Mueller Report,www.justice.gov/storage/report_volume1.pdf, 1:27.

399      named “Secured Borders” . . . “Being Patriot” . . . “Stop All Invaders” Mueller Report, www.justice.gov/storage/report_volume1.pdf, 1:25.

399      deactivated in August 2017 Mueller Report, www.justice.gov/storage/report_volume1.pdf, 1:26.

399      at least 29 million Americans and as many as 126 million people around the world Mueller Report, www.justice.gov/storage/report_volume1.pdf, 1:26.

399      rebranded as the Lakhta Internet Research National Intelligence Council, “Foreign Threats to the 2020 US Federal Elections,” March 10, 2021, in U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary, Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Hearing before the Committee on the Judiciary, 117th Cong., 1st. Sess., Serial No. 117–27 (June 10, 2021), www.congress.gov/117/chrg/CHRG-117hhrg48244/CHRG-117hhrg48244.pdf, 92.

399      By 2019 . . . “outsourced” . . . to Ghana, Nigeria, and Mexico National Intelligence Council, “Foreign Threats to the 2020 US Federal Elections,” in U.S. House of Representatives, Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, www.congress.gov/117/chrg/CHRG-117hhrg48244/CHRG-117hhrg48244.pdf, 92; and Clarissa Ward et al., “Russian Election Meddling Is Back—Via Ghana and Nigeria—and in Your Feeds,” CNN, April 11, 2020, edition.cnn.com/2020/03/12/world/russia-ghana-troll-farms-2020-ward/index.html. 

399      did not seem to know National Intelligence Council, “Foreign Threats to the 2020 US Federal Elections,” in U.S. House of Representatives, Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, www.congress.gov/117/chrg/CHRG-117hhrg48244/CHRG-117hhrg48244.pdf, 92; and Ward et al., “Russian Election Meddling Is Back—Via Ghana and Nigeria—and in Your Feeds,” edition.cnn.com/2020/03/12/world/russia-ghana-troll-farms-2020-ward/index.html. 

399      paid . . . that expressed hate of White Americans Žilvinas Švedkauskas et al., “Russia’s Disinformation Campaigns Are Targeting African Americans,” Washington Post, July 24, 2020, www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/07/24/russias-disinformation-campaigns-are-targeting-african-americans/. 

399      after George Floyd’s murder National Intelligence Council, “Foreign Threats to the 2020 US Federal Elections,” in U.S. House of Representatives, Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, www.congress.gov/117/chrg/CHRG-117hhrg48244/CHRG-117hhrg48244.pdf, 92.