“We speak through our weapons”. I was 8 years old when, passing by the headquarters of a mafia clan to reach my school, I heard this phrase. It is a memory that periodically emerges from the depths of my mind, often in conjunction with one of the many acts of violence linked to the feuds between Neapolitan criminal cartels. It seems to be a clear and demonstrated truth: for example, the war between the local Ascione – Papale and Birra – Iacomino gangs killed 18 mafiosi and injured several people between 2007 and 2008. The latter is one of the most recent, and many examples come from that experience. Wars and murders make many think that weapons are the best means of communication for mafia groups, but this is not correct. In reality, the power of these organizations is largely based on the ability to communicate to people, in various forms, their dominion over the territory, the ability to dispense life and death, success and failure, favors and punishments. “It is usually difficult to find concrete evidence on the power of communication,” says Mario Morcellini, professor and director of the Department of Communication and Social Research at the University of Rome “Sapienza”. “On the contrary, when we see how criminal cartels use communication, this power becomes very clear. They are businesses, built on a communicative and symbolic dimension, and communication is the most precious asset they sell." These criminal organizations have extensive and complex communication strategies, which mix traditional ways of communicating with new and technological ones. Guns, animal parts delivered to intimidate people, Skype and the radio, to name a few. The cases of journalists Giancarlo Siani, killed 28 years ago by a Neapolitan... middle of paper... was the first to raise the alarm: "In our country, and in particular in the Caserta area, there are dangers of criminal infiltration in management of digital channels", warned the president of Corecom, Gianni Festa, and his deputy, Vincenzo Todaro, on 7 May 2009. “I'm sorry, I'm in a hurry.” This is the answer, with some slight variations, that I heard in several interviews. Part of the work should have focused on people's feelings, as recipients and victims of this communication. Armed with my digital recorder, I tried to interview several people. When I told the interviewees about this topic, they quickly ran away. Having given up on the recorder, I tried again. Same result. “You got the answer you were looking for,” said a friend of mine. How to deny it? These reactions have demonstrated, better than any declaration, the truth: "criminal communication" is truly effective.