Military propaganda in a political conflict: How Ecuador used the image of drug cartels on government channels and in national media

In the context of studying military propaganda, the internal armed conflict in Ecuador associated with a surge in drug cartel activity in 2024, allows us to examine how the propaganda is used in direct and indirect political communication. Direct political communication is carried out through government media, while indirect communication is carried out through private and public media, which in this case can be considered as information intermediaries between the government and the people. Therefore, the focus of this study is on the social media posts of Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa, which were posted during the internal armed conflict, as well as the materials published by the Ecuadorian newspapers El Universo and El Telégrafo during the same period. The study particularly focuses on the methods used to create an image of the enemy, which in this case is organized crime. The research methodology combines elements of content analysis and quantitative methods. Publications related to the armed conflict were counted and divided into categories. Key phrases used in relation to the conflict participants were also found out and analyzed. We found that Daniel Noboa used classical methods of military propaganda in his political communication, and also used the armed conflict as a central point of his political agenda. At the same time, some techniques were used to soften the more aggressive aspects of traditional military propaganda. We also found that Ecuadorian media during the escalation aligned with Noboa not only on issues related to the conflict, but also on inner politics in general. However, we also revealed that there were certain areas that remained unaffected by government military propaganda and where the Ecuadorian media demonstrated independence, presenting narratives that challenged the official viewpoint.