Brazil’s slums are filled with infighting between rival gangs.
They used to take to the walls of the notorious favelas to mark their territory with graffiti. Now the brutal war has moved to another kind of wall — the social media feed.
Gang members prove their worth, show off their weapons and drug stashes, while flaunting their gangster cred across the world wide web.
The gangs of Brazil have gone viral — and they are marking their claim for the world to see.
The trend has been growing rapidly since 2012, when former NYPD gang specialist Sargeant Lou Savelli told The Atlantic Cities about the dangerous social connection.
“Facebook is their new street corner,” he said at the time.
“Rather than yelling at each other on the streets and on the walls, now they do it on the internet and everyone can see.”
[…]
