In Chiapas, content creator Benjamin López was detained for over nine hours and fined 5,000 pesos after publishing an AI-generated meme showing crocodiles at the Sak' Chen ecotourism center, located in Nuevo San Juan Chamula. Although the image was clearly satirical, local authorities considered the content could be 'misleading' and cause alarm among visitors and residents. On his social media, López explained that he did not clarify it was a meme and recognized his error, deleting the photo from his Facebook page and posting the original one. 'The post was just a meme or humor, I recognize that it was wrong not to specify it and I apologize for what happened,' the influencer stated. Additionally, the influencer mentioned that some media outlets disseminated altered information that affected his community. 'Details were added that are no longer true and that affect my community,' he explained, referring to coverage by local portals that interpreted the image as a real threat to tourism. Furthermore, the sanctions applied are part of the community's internal agreements, as detailed by López. 'What I mentioned about jail and sanction is within the usos y costumbres of my community, when someone commits a fault.' However, the incident sparked controversy, as the influencer was deprived of his liberty and forced to pay a fine to be released. After his release, López publicly denounced the incident, accusing abuse of authority and violations of his right to freedom of expression. A meme turned into a legal conflict due to local norms that do not always align with federal law. In Chiapas, the interaction between constitutional rights and 'usos y costumbres' in some areas has generated situations like this, where community agreements prevail.
