In Panama the Digital Offensive is in Favor of Reopening the Donoso Mine
The Digital Loggers investigation identified a campaign aimed at influencing public opinion in favor of the Cobre Panamá mine. More than 100 accounts are amplifying support for the reopening of the mine in Donoso. Behind them are profiles with fictitious identities, pages that impersonate Panamanian media outlets, and employees of Cobre Panamá.
The digital offensive in favor of reopening the Cobre Panamá mine operates as a coordinated public relations and astroturfing campaign aimed at countering the massive 2023 protests. It utilizes coordinated networks of accounts to shape the narrative regarding the future of the Canadian-owned mine. To understand how this operation functions, consider the following key dynamics:
- Coordinated Amplification: The campaign relies on networks of over 100 synchronized social media accounts. These accounts rapidly amplify support for the mine, creating an artificial sense of widespread public consensus.
- Economic Urgency & “Reopening to Close”: The digital narrative focuses heavily on financial strain. Pro-mine campaigns stress that prolonged shutdowns threaten thousands of jobs and cost the country billions. It also promotes the ambiguous government narrative of “reopening to close” the site in a controlled manner.
- Energy Transition Messaging: Proponents, including mine operator First Quantum Minerals, market the copper extracted as a global necessity for modern technology and green energy transitions.
- Pushback from Civil Society: Grassroots coalitions (such as Panama is Worth More without Mining) actively combat these digital offensives. They argue that economic dependency on the mine is a fallacy, pointing out that Panama’s economy has continued to grow during the shutdown.
The ultimate goal of this digital offensive is to shape public opinion ahead of major political and legal decisions, including the release of government-commissioned environmental audits and ongoing international arbitration disputes. The Digital Lumberjacks investigation identified a campaign aimed at influencing public opinion in favor of the Cobre Panamá mine, through harassment of those who question its reopening, disinformation, and nearly $60,000 in paid advertising in Meta to simulate a consensus and popular support. The action was not spontaneous: more than 100 accounts amplified this content at the same time, at the same moments, and against the same people, organizations, and media outlets.
