The wicked problem of pig butchering (2019 – 2024): From niche fraud to a global threat – A historical, sociosemiotic, and policy analysis

• In Event: Media and social construction of crime IV

Abstract

This study employs a wicked problems framework to examine the evolution of the pig butchering scam, a hybrid online investment-cum-romance fraud. It synthesises previous research and extends it through historical and sociosemiotic investigation to propose a formalised definition of pig butchering. The initial emergence was catalysed by the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2019, peaking in global recognition following coverage by Last Week Tonight with John Oliver in February 2023, while INTERPOL’s December 2024 Words Matter awareness campaign aims to de-influence the public narrative. Tracing the phenomenon’s socioecological and geographical spread from China and Southeast Asia to diaspora communities across Transatlantic and Pacific nations, it is increasingly linked to the Belt and Road Initiative’s Digital Silk Road pathway. Using historical tracing, it maps the expansion of the scam while employing sociosemiotic and discourse analysis to investigate how the term ‘pig butchering’ has been shaped, contested, and strategically reframed by victims, regulatory authorities, and global media. The critical analysis is bookended by INTERPOL’s effort to de-influence the term and interrogates the potential downstream effects of linguistic rebranding on public perceptions, regulatory discourse, and investigative strategies.
This research situates pig butchering within media and social construction perspectives, highlighting the role of digital media and transnational narratives in shaping perceptions of financial crime and cybercrime. The study formalises a conceptual model that integrates the crime’s sociohistorical trajectory with contemporary enforcement and regulatory challenges. While victim-awareness campaigns can benefit from distancing from the term, its removal from legal and investigative discourse risks erasing critical socio-pragmatic insights for disruption. By advocating for a dual-track communication strategy that balances enforcement effectiveness with victim protection, the paper underscores the importance of terminological precision in law enforcement and regulatory settings to ensure that highly dynamic, adaptive, and globalised criminal tactics remain identifiable and actionable, facilitating target hardening and interdiction.

Author

• Ashleigh Burnside, The University of Manchester