UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED

UNCLASSIFIED
(U) Gangs and Technology
(U) Gang use of technology and social media
has significantly increased over the past two
years. Widely used social media platforms,
such as Facebook and YouTube, have become
ubiquitous in gang activity. According to survey
respondents, the most common social media
platforms that street gangs use are Facebook,
YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter. 65 Gangs are
also discovering and utilizing new platforms
and applications on a daily basis. They use
various sites, applications, and platforms for a
multitude of reasons, including recruitment,
communication, targeting rivals, advancing
criminal activities, and thwarting law
enforcement.
(U) Recruitment
(U) Social media sites provide gangs with
a platform to recruit new members, either
through direct communication or indirectly
through videos that spread the gang’s brand
and boast the benefits of the gang lifestyle.
• (U) BMS, a combination of the Black MOB
and Skanless gangs in California, used
(U) Social Media Platforms Most Frequently Reported
to be Used by Street Gang Members
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Facebook YouTube Instagram Twitter Snapchat Google+ Flickr WhatsApp kik
(U) Source: NAGIA Survey Data.
UNCLASSIFIED
2015 NATIONAL GANG REPORT 39