ARGENTINA: PILOT LEANDRO BERTAZZO’S DEATH REIGNITES DEBATE OVER CYBERBULLYING — THE KILLER THAT TAKES LIVES IN SILENCE
Leandro Bertazzo, 1984–2026
IN MEMORIAM
The family of Leandro Bertazzo says their son received hateful messages for months. They are demanding an investigation into those responsible for the online harassment.
The tragedy raises an urgent question:
How far can violence and hatred on social media go?
CÓRDOBA, BUENOS AIRES, GENEVA. NOVEMBER 5, 2026.
The death of Leandro Bertazzo, a 42-year-old Argentine flight instructor, has once again brought into focus a problem that societies have yet to fully understand in all its seriousness: the impact of online harassment on mental health.
On July 4, 2026, Bertazzo died after jumping from an aircraft during an instructional flight in the province of Córdoba, Argentina. Four months later, his parents decided to speak publicly, alleging that their son had been subjected to a prolonged campaign of online abuse and hateful messages.
The family's allegations, reported by Argentine media on November 2, raise new questions about the circumstances preceding his death and the potential responsibility of those involved in the harassment.
A STORY OF UNFULFILLED DREAMS
AND HATRED
Leandro had two great passions: music and aviation.
During his youth, he played electric guitar in a rock band. Later, he decided to devote his efforts to becoming a professional pilot. To finance his training, he even sold some of his most treasured belongings.
He obtained professional licenses, accumulated experience and built a future around his chosen career.
In May 2026, he traveled to Chile to participate in a recruitment process associated with LATAM Airlines. However, after approximately one month, he was dismissed from the selection process and returned to Córdoba.
His personal and professional life was going through a difficult period.
According to his parents, it was during those months that they began noticing a significant deterioration in his emotional condition. They also discovered that he was receiving aggressive messages through social media.
Some of those messages, according to his family, personally insulted him, questioned his future and made him feel that he was a burden to others.
CYBERBULLYING: THE KILLER THAT CONTINUES TO TAKE LIVES IN SILENCE
Ethel and Carlos Bertazzo reported that their son was receiving psychological and psychiatric care. They also described episodes of severe distress and panic attacks.
His parents attempted to obtain specialized assistance as his condition deteriorated.
His mother particularly remembered conversations in which Leandro expressed feelings of worthlessness and a loss of self-esteem.
"YOU ARE GOOD FOR NOTHING."
The family believes that the messages he received online played a decisive role in his psychological deterioration.
This is one of the central issues they are now demanding be investigated.
A FAMILY IN SEARCH OF ANSWERS
His parents are demanding an investigation into the origin of the messages, who sent them and whether there was a coordinated campaign of harassment.
They have also publicly questioned why they have not yet been able to access the contents of their son's mobile phone, which they consider essential evidence for reconstructing the final months of his life.
The judicial investigation must establish what happened, identify any possible responsibilities and determine whether criminal conduct took place.
This is not merely about establishing the circumstances of a death. It is also about determining whether individuals used social media to pursue, humiliate or psychologically destroy another human being.
CYBERBULLYING HAS NO AGE LIMIT
The Universal Definition of Cyberbullying follows:
GENEVA – BUENOS AIRES, OCTOBER 9 — WORLD ORGANIZATION BULLYING SIN FRONTERAS
Universal Definition of Cyberbullying (2014–2025)
Cyberbullying is any form of harassment or intimidation carried out through digital technologies — including social media, messaging services, email, online video games and other electronic platforms — with the purpose of humiliating, threatening, defaming or causing psychological harm to another person.
The definition also includes the distribution of images, videos, messages or false content intended to harm the victim, as well as identity impersonation through fake accounts or other digital mechanisms. Cyberbullying occurs when such conduct causes fear, distress or concern to the person targeted.
The definition, developed by Dr. Javier Miglino Helfenstein, World Director of Bullying Sin Fronteras, emerged from the work of BSF's International Observatory on Bullying and Cyberbullying.
It identifies one of the defining characteristics of this form of harassment: it can continue 24 hours a day, even outside school and beyond face-to-face contact between victims and perpetrators.
WHAT BEHAVIORS DOES CYBERBULLYING INCLUDE?
Cyberbullying can be carried out through the internet, social media, mobile phones, messaging services, email, online video games and other digital platforms.
Behaviors that may constitute cyberbullying include:
Repeated insults, threats, rumors or messages intended to humiliate.
Publishing or circulating images and videos to harm another person.
Spreading false information with the intention of damaging someone's reputation.
Identity impersonation through fake accounts or other digital mechanisms.
Using digital platforms to intimidate, isolate or exert control over a victim.
Each case must be assessed in its particular context, considering the repetition of the behavior and the harm caused. Not every disagreement or offensive online comment, by itself, constitutes cyberbullying.
CYBERBULLYING: THE KILLER THAT TAKES LIVES IN SILENCE
Click here to read the complete Universal Definition of Cyberbullying.
This case presents a dimension that deserves particular attention.
When bullying and cyberbullying are discussed, public debate often focuses on children, adolescents and educational institutions.
But online harassment does not end when someone leaves school.
It can occur in workplaces, professional environments, families, social circles and communities. It can involve private messages, public posts, digital groups and mechanisms of public exposure.
And it can affect adults.
The Bertazzo case forces us to broaden our perspective: no campaign of humiliation, persecution or personal degradation should be dismissed as just another disagreement on the internet.
Words can also become instruments of violence.
PREVENTION
PREVENTION AND MORE PREVENTION
The World Organization Bullying Sin Fronteras believes this case must serve as a starting point for an international discussion about three fundamental issues:
1. Identifying online harassment.
Repeated messages involving humiliation, threats, personal attacks and persecution must be taken seriously. Such behavior should never be minimized simply because it takes place behind a screen.
2. Strengthening mental health protection.
When someone shows signs of profound distress, isolation, hopelessness or difficulty coping with everyday life, that person needs to be heard, supported and given appropriate professional care.
3. Investigating responsibility.
Digital platforms, institutions and public authorities must have effective mechanisms to receive complaints, preserve evidence and respond to situations of harassment.
Prevention requires cooperation among families, professionals, educational institutions, workplaces, technology companies and public authorities.
A WARNING TO THE WORLD
Leandro Bertazzo's death must not become a spectacle or a succession of shocking images.
It must become an opportunity to discuss something that too often remains hidden: the psychological suffering caused by interpersonal and digital violence.
His family deserves answers. The investigation deserves rigor. And society must understand that behind every digital profile there is a real human being.
Online violence is not virtual for the person who experiences it. Its consequences are profoundly real.
Dr. Javier Miglino Helfenstein
Creator of the Universal Definition of Cyberbullying.
WORLD ORGANIZATION BULLYING SIN FRONTERAS
With information from the Judiciary of Córdoba, Argentina.
