Social networking has undoubtedly become a popular part of the Web experience, with Facebook nabbing 750 million users alone. But at times, social networking can prove to be problematic. For instance, Britain blamed social media for its class riots that occurred last month saying that the riots were too easily organized via the free flow of information. One week later, two UK men were arrested for attempting to provoke riots through the use of Facebook and found guilty, which led to a four-year prison sentence for each.

Now, Mexico is having similar problems with social media -- except its citizens' attempts to cause chaos did not fail. 

Gilberto Martinez Vera, a 48-year-old former school teacher who lives in the eastern state of Veracruz, and Maria de Jesus Bravo Pagola, a former government official and radio commentator, have been accused of terrorism after they separately posted false information on their Twitters about kidnappings and shootouts near schools in Veracruz. 

On August 25, 2011, Martinez Vera posted a tweet that claimed five children were kidnapped from a school in Veracruz according to the BBC.

"I can confirm this, at the Jorge Arroyo school in the Carranza district, five children have been taken away by an armed group," said Martinez Vera's tweet. "Total psychosis in the area."

Martinez Vera added that this confirmation came from his sister-in-law, who had children that attended the school.

That very same day, Bravo Pagola used her Twitter and Facebook to re-tweet and post the messages respectively, which said that a helicopter had opened fire at another school in the area.

As it turns out, none of the above-mentioned events were true. There were no kidnappings or shootings occurring at any of the schools in the area at that time. But the tweets didn't just come out of nowhere -- the city was already on edge after weeks of gun battles between drug traffickers. Then, on August 25, residents saw armed convoys of marines gathering in the streets of Veracruz, leading to the rumors.

But that didn't stop citizens from panicking. According to Gerardo Buganza, interior secretary for Veracruz state, people stopped their vehicles in the middle of the road to run and pick up their children, thinking that their children were in danger. There were 26 total car accidents in the midst of the chaos, and emergency numbers had "totally collapsed" from the amount of traffic from callers.

Buganza said the panic caused by these tweets and Facebook posts made the panic caused by Orson Welles' 1938 radio broadcast of "The War of the Worlds" seem small in comparison.

Both Martinez Vera and Bravo Pagola were arrested. According to President Felipe Calderon, their actions were an act of terrorism. They could face up to 30 years in prison.

Both citizens were outraged. Martinez Vera said that the panic had already started before he posted his tweet, and that he was just repeating what his sister-in-law had already confirmed. Bravo Pagola reacted similarly, saying she merely re-tweeted what everyone else was already saying on the social networks. 

"How can they possibly do this to me, for re-tweeting a message?" said Claribel Guevara, Bravo Pagola's defense lawyer, who was quoting her client. "I mean, it's 140 characters. It's not logical." 

Human rights groups and civil liberties advocates have started speaking out, saying that the charges are "exaggerated." Petitions are circulating around the Web to demand release of the accused.

According to Amnesty International, officials are violating freedom of expression by arresting both of the accused on account of terrorism, and that the drug war is to blame instead. 

"The lack of safety creates an atmosphere of mistrust in which rumors that circulate on social networks are part of people's efforts to protect themselves, since there is very little trustworthy information," Amnesty International wrote in a statement. 

Raul Trejo, an expert on media and violence at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, agreed saying that the government has done a poor job of preventing drug cartel violence and that it "doesn't make clear what is happening" in the midst of media rumors.

While some feel that terrorism isn't the correct charge for this situation, and that both citizens are being punished for using Twitter to express opinions about the state's current affairs, Veracruz Governor Javier Duarte de Ochoa feels that the punishment is necessary and appropriate.

"The punishment for those who caused damages is not because they are Twitter users, but for the consequences that their irresponsible acts provoked," said Duarte de Ochoa.