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Original article: “Trolls o bots de José Antonio Kast”: Camila Vallejo pide esclarecer redes de Cerimedo y acusa a la derecha de no querer “avanzar hasta las últimas consecuencias”

Former government spokesperson Camila Vallejo emphasized the need for a thorough investigation to determine the influence of Argentine consultant Fernando Cerimedo in Chile and accused the right of refusing to «advance until the last consequences» in clarifying what lies behind his networks in the country.

In an interview with the program «Stop the World» on Uruguay’s daily radio, the former Secretary of State asserted that it is crucial to clarify the extent of Cerimedo’s coordination with national right-wing and far-right networks, as well as the attacks carried out by the «trolls or bots» supporting President José Antonio Kast.

The political operator, known in the Latin American political scene as «the king of trolls» for deploying fake accounts on social media and digital platforms to influence the political landscape and electoral campaigns, was arrested in Bolivia on August 18, where he is currently facing four charges, including attempted femicide against his ex-partner Nadia Beller, money laundering, domestic violence, and suspected involvement in flights linked to drug trafficking. Since then, his name has remained at the center of public attention due to his ties with Chile and right-wing factions, including officials from Kast’s current government.

Cerimedo played an active role in the campaign against the proposed new Constitution drafted by the Constitutional Convention. Through the company Numen Spa, founded in our country by his associate, lawyer Enrique José García Arancibia, he was contracted in 2020 by the so-called «Common House», a campaign against the new Constitution, where he collaborated with current director of the Communications Secretariat (Secom), Felipe Costabal, and Alejandro Irarrázaval, chief advisor in the Second Floor of La Moneda.

The questions surrounding his connections to the current government were reinforced by statements from Beller, who, in an interview with Radio Biobío, claimed that the Argentine advisor boasted openly about his role in José Antonio Kast’s presidential campaign.

«I am absolutely sure he worked with Kast’s team because that was one of the things he prided himself on: that he had made a new president,” Beller stated, directly linking the consultant to the president.

Vallejo Accuses the Right of Refusing to «Advance Until the Last Consequences»

In response to these events, the Chamber of Deputies approved the establishment of the Cerimedo Commission to investigate the influence of the network of bots, trolls, and misinformation linked to the far-right political operator and determine the real extent of its interference in the country’s democratic processes.

During the interview with the Uruguayan media, Vallejo reiterated that it needs to be clarified whether the advisor operated in our country since 2020 with the goal of promoting content and attempting to influence public opinion through the use of bots and misinformation.

However, she noted that the right’s failure to support or participate in the creation of the Cerimedo Commission reflects a «desire not to advance until the last consequences in clarifying what lies behind» his networks in Chile.

Attacks by José Antonio Kast’s «Trolls or Bots»

She pointed out that since the COVID-19 pandemic began in late 2019, there have been clear indications of «systematic misinformation campaigns on social media and also analogously.

According to the former minister in the administration of former President Gabriel Boric, the digital operation that included the use of artificially created accounts and algorithm intervention to influence conversations on online platforms increased during the social outbreak, the constitutional plebiscites, and electoral campaigns.

She highlighted that in the recent elections, «anyone who was not aligned» with the current far-right president, including right-wing candidate Evelyn Mathhei (Chile Vamos), received «attacks from Kast’s supporters, trolls, or bots.»

In her statements, she warned that Kast is pushing an «ultraconservative, neoliberal agenda» and is «authoritarian,» similar to the agendas of global far-right leaders, manipulating public discourse and labeling dissenters as «enemies.»

Below you can watch the full interview with Camila Vallejo:

La entrada Camila Vallejo Calls for Investigation into José Antonio Kast’s Trolls and Bots, Accusing Right of Avoiding Accountability se publicó primero en El Ciudadano.