在意大利的黑手党地下世界，年轻的黑帮分子正从勒索、刺杀和贩毒转向在TikTok上成为社交媒体影响者。Fondazione Magna Grecia的一项研究分析了6,200条TikTok帖子，发现犯罪网络利用该应用来使其形象正常化、神话化其文化并洗钱。通过将权力重新包装为向往式消费——跑车、名牌配饰和华丽派对——他们减少了对公开威胁的依赖，而改为招募和动员追随者。

调查引用了那不勒斯附近的Amato‑Pagano家族使用以奢华为重点的内容招募随后被训练从事勒索的成员；检察官警告说黑手党通过“向他们展示财富和轻松的钱”来招募年轻人。研究人员报告称，首领甚至通过表情符号（黑旗、锁链、沙漏）在监狱中控制家族。TikTok基于互动的算法放大了不断的暴力、忠诚和炫耀流——包括囚犯妻子的建议、受害者的照片、继承人炫耀品牌以及用于恐吓的踏板车游行——训练观众将犯罪影像作为娱乐来消费。

今年七月，TikTok与意大利反黑手党议会委员会签署了一项协议并删除了数千个被标记的视频；该公司表示，算法和研究人员现在在投诉之前删除99%的不可接受内容。尽管如此，内容创作的速度和创造性使执法变得困难，因为社交媒体影响力正成为有组织犯罪一种风险更低、可见度更高的延伸。

In Italy’s mafia underworld, young mobsters are shifting from extortion, assassination and drug-running to becoming social-media influencers on TikTok. A Fondazione Magna Grecia study that analyzed 6,200 TikTok posts found criminal networks use the app to normalize their image, mythologize culture and launder money. By reframing power as aspirational consumption — fast cars, designer accessories and glamorous parties — they reduce reliance on overt threats and instead recruit and mobilize followers.

Investigations cited the Amato‑Pagano clan near Naples using luxury-focused content to recruit affiliates who were then trained in extortion; prosecutors warn mafias recruit youth “by showing them wealth and easy money.” Researchers report bosses control clans from jail via emojis (black flag, chain, hourglass). TikTok’s interaction-driven algorithm amplifies a steady stream of violence, loyalty and ostentation — including prisoners’ wives’ advice, victims’ photos, heirs flaunting brands and intimidating scooter parades — training audiences to consume criminal imagery as entertainment.

In July TikTok signed an agreement with Italy’s anti‑Mafia parliamentary commission and removed “thousands” of flagged videos; the company says algorithms and researchers now remove 99% of unacceptable content ahead of complaints. Nevertheless, the speed and inventiveness of content creation make enforcement difficult, as social-media influence becomes a lower-risk, high-visibility extension of organized crime.