Canva illustration by Global Voices.

In June 2024, the official Facebook page of Radio Chiwalaki, an Indigenous, rural radio station located in the province of Vacas in Cochabamba, Bolivia, was hacked. Far from being a small issue, this event showed how fragile the digital presence of Indigenous and rural media can be, and the concrete risks they face when relying on digital platforms without a solid security strategy.

Image of Radio Chiwalaki, “La voz de los Quechuas del Valle Alto” (The voice of the Quechuas of the High Valley). Image used with their permission.

Created in 1990, Radio Chiwalaki was born out of the drive of rural communities that had been demanding access to information, education, and intercommunication since the late 1980s. Its first broadcast took place in Misuk'ani, a few kilometers from the municipality of Vacas, with the support of the Rural Training Institute (INCCA), and in coordination with the Chiwalaki central regional peasant organization. Since then, the station has become a very important medium for Vacas and the surrounding rural communities. Its 1000-watt medium wave signal reaches several municipalities and provinces, including Arani, Tiraque, Pocona, and Alalay. The majority of its programs, targeted at the rural population, are transmitted in Quechua. Radio Chiwalaki's key characteristics include the broadcast of local content, the promotion of community debate, and the strengthening of local identity.

The damage caused to the radio station was not just technical; it also resulted in the loss of a significant number of followers. It was also a blow to local communication and the right to information, since the radio had — for years — been promoting the dissemination of local news. Its Facebook page, which had around 43,000 followers, functioned as a dissemination channel, a space for archiving the station's work, and a bridge for Quechua-speaking audiences both within and outside Bolivia.

Screenshot of the Radio Chiwalaki Facebook account that was hacked in June 2024. Used with the permission of the original Facebook account holders.

The hackers began posting videos with Vietnamese text that was completely unrelated to the radio station's usual content. Its community of listeners was undoubtedly baffled; what happened? Why was the station no longer broadcasting from its usual page? 

Station administrators responded almost immediately by creating a new page, which currently reaches just 1,800 followers. The original page remains under the hackers’ control and continues to generate confusion. Far from being simply a numerical drop, the loss of an audience that has been built up over the years also represents a setback in terms of visibility and trust. Many people in the community may not yet have heard about the change and may not know which page to trust.

The fragility of depending on social media

The hacking incident has also laid bare a problem many rural radio stations in Bolivia face: growing dependence on social media channels like Facebook, in lieu of their own websites or other digital alternatives.

In the case of Radio Chiwalaki, while its main channel of communication with rural communities is still the radio, it has also had to embrace the use of social networks in order to extend their reach — especially among young and migrant populations, who access content online.

Using these platforms carries serious risks. Facebook Cyber Security Evaluation, a 2022 study by researcher Jinnan Sun evaluated the social network's security practices and discovered that it has been experiencing repeated data breaches and control failures since 2010.

Digital security as an urgent need

According to Fabiola Maurice, a digital security training specialist who works with organizations, communities, and at-risk individuals, what happened to Radio Chiwalaki's Facebook page is an attack that exposes not only the media, but its community as well:

Es un ciberdelito lo que ha pasado, porque tiene consecuencias financieras y de reputación; los afectados llegan a perder la credibilidad de sus oyentes y además se puede atacar a otros usuarios de esa cuenta.

What has happened is a cybercrime, because it has financial and reputational consequences; the affected parties get to lose the credibility of their listeners, and also other users of that account can be attacked.

Making the point that such events should not be normalized, Maurice urges the development of awareness campaigns so that other local radio stations can learn to protect their digital channels. As far as the role of the state goes in cases like these, she recommends that — just like traditional media — digital platforms should be regulated and protected by laws.

As for the responsibility of Facebook, Maurice explains that many radio stations lose control of their pages because of their configuration. For example, pages that are created as personal accounts rather than non-profit accounts can hinder recovery mechanisms.

Basic safety recommendations

To avoid these types of cyberattacks, Maurice recommends activating two-step verification, using institutional emails and phone numbers to regain access to accounts, and creating secure passwords with at least 12 characters that include both upper and lowercase letters, as well as symbols and numbers.

She also emphasizes the importance of digital education. From learning how to identify malicious links and differentiate secure sites (https) from insecure ones (http) to knowing what information not to share, staying up-to-date is key to protecting yourself. For those at more technologically advanced levels, Maurice recommends using tools such as VPNs, or privacy-focused browsers, such as Tor.

A reflection of cyber weaknesses in Bolivia

Given the country's limitations in terms of its readiness to respond to digital threats, the case of Radio Chiwalaki is not too far-fetched.

A study conducted by NCSI (National Cybersecurity Security Index) placed Bolivia 79th in the global ranking of cybersecurity preparedness, occupying the lowest spot in Latin America. Despite institutional efforts like the Computer Incident Response Center and the Agency for the Development of the Information Society, Bolivia still does not have a solid national strategy or clear public policies on digital security.

This structural weakness leaves Indigenous and rural radio stations even more vulnerable to cyberattacks. Without support, training, effective tools, or institutional backing, they are left alone in the face of threats that can erase years of collective work in a matter of minutes.