On February 11, 2025, Clara Elvira Ospina, journalist and director of the online media outlet EpicentroTv, a platform known for investigative journalism and reporting on cases of corruption and human rights violations, denounced systematic attacks and insults directed at her through social media. In her complaint, she alleged that these attacks included misogynistic and xenophobic insults, as well as unfounded accusations of terrorism—claims she attributes to unidentified state officials and politicians. This comes at a time when the use of fake social media profiles to influence public opinion about political figures and civil society actors has become widespread in Peru. Recently, the program Cuarto Poder exposed an organised digital network that actively supports the Minister of the Interior.
In response to this situation, more than a hundred journalists have signed a petition demanding that the Public Prosecutor’s Office investigate this case, along with other instances of harassment and cyberbullying. The State has neither responded to the allegations nor the petition.
This case highlights a concerning pattern of attacks against the independent press and civil society, further eroding trust in the State’s ability to safeguard fundamental civic freedoms.