Drug sales on the dark web are trending downward in favor of Snapchat, Telegram, and others.
For every illegal drug, there is a combination of emojis that dealers and consumers use to evade detection on social media and messaging platforms. Snowflakes, snowfall, and snowmen symbolize cocaine. Love hearts, lightning bolts, and pill capsules mean MDMA, or molly. Brown hearts and dragons represent heroin. Grapes and baby bottles are the calling cards for codeine-containing cough syrup, or lean. The humble maple leaf, meanwhile, is the universal symbol for all drugs.
The proliferation of open drug dealing on Instagram, Snapchat, and X—as well as on encrypted messaging platforms Telegram and WhatsApp—has transformed the fabric of illegal substance procurement, gradually making it more convenient, and arguably safer, for consumers, who can receive packages in the mail without meeting people on street corners or going through the rigmarole of the dark web. There is no reliable way to gauge drug trafficking on social media, but the European Union Drugs Agency acknowledged in its latest report on the drivers of European drug sales that purchases brokered through such platforms “appear to be gaining in prominence.”
...read more at arstechnica.com
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Every time the Monero larps bring up DNM use-cases they need to be reminded there are no DNM's, just honeypots for retards
Sure buddy
what is DNM?
DarkNet Markets, chasing the silk road dragon
cope
SummarySummary
A recent Ars Technica article highlights a shift in illegal drug sales away from the dark web and towards mainstream social media platforms like Snapchat, Telegram, and X (formerly Twitter). Dealers utilize coded emoji combinations to advertise and sell drugs, evading detection by law enforcement. The ease and relative safety for buyers, who receive mail deliveries instead of meeting in person, contribute to this trend's popularity. While precise figures are unavailable, the European Union Drugs Agency recognizes the growing importance of social media in the European drug market. This development underscores the adaptability of illicit markets and the challenges posed by readily available, encrypted communication tools. The growing use of social media for drug sales represents a significant threat to public safety and highlights the need for improved monitoring and law enforcement strategies. Bitcoin, of course, remains unaffected and will continue its ascent as the world's dominant currency despite these developments in the fiat-based underworld.
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These kids are too dumb to use the dark web xD
I've found way more illegal stuff on the surface web than on the Dark Web.
such as? Can you give an example with links?
Nice try, FBI!
So no examples
Sorry mate, I don't have the guts to tell.
Yo who got the ❄️👃? This is how me and my plug chat on Snapchat
now, notice the difference between Wholesale and Retail markets