Manuel Pedrero has filed a complaint against journalist Guillermo Ortega for believing he endangered his integrity and reputation. In Ortega's newscast, a report was aired about the murder of teenager Santiago Mateo in León, Guanajuato, at the hands of a doctor, but in the video, a photo of Pedrero was placed instead of the doctor in question.
"This journalist decided to make a note with this information, showed images of Mateo and when referring to the doctor, placed a photo of myself, as if the doctor were me, as if the abuser were me," expressed Pedrero. The situation has led Pedrero to feel that his integrity is at risk, as he fears someone might consider him responsible for the homicide and take reprisals against him.
Pedrero, known for his sympathy towards the so-called Fourth Transformation, strongly condemned the situation, considering it goes beyond a simple slander. He assured that disagreeing on the way of doing journalism is one thing, but using his image erroneously in such a delicate case is unacceptable. He also highlighted the importance of having a presence on social media to defend oneself in cases like this.
After the publication of the video where Pedrero denounces the error, Guillermo Ortega's editorial team acknowledged the mistake and issued a public apology regarding it. They stated that it was an editorial error and promised to take greater care in the preparation of their editorial materials to avoid similar situations in the future. The video was removed from all of Ortega's online platforms, and stricter editorial verification protocols will be implemented to prevent such situations.
