In addition to the opposition, dictator Nicolás Maduro has found another scapegoat for the protests that his regime has been violently repressing since the most recent electoral fraud in Venezuela: social media.
After calling out X owner Elon Musk for a fight and accusing him of orchestrating a hacker attack against the Chavista National Electoral Council (CNE) and being part of a satanic sect, this week Maduro said that Instagram, TikTok and WhatsApp were behind attempts to destabilize Venezuela.
“I accuse TikTok and Instagram of being responsible for the creation of hate to divide Venezuelans, to seek a massacre and a division of Venezuela. To bring fascism to Venezuela. A cyberfascist and criminal coup d’état,” the tyrant said.
Maduro also posted a video in which he appears to be deleting WhatsApp from his phone. He claimed that the app was being used to plan attacks against Venezuelan security forces.
“WhatsApp gave the list [de usuários do app] from Venezuela to terrorists [manifestantes] so that they could attack them, they attack the country’s officers and military family, the Bolivarian National Police [PNB]attack the entire institutionality of the country, all five branches of government are under attack by WhatsApp,” said the dictator. The social networks cited by Maduro did not comment on the accusations.
Independent media outlets in Venezuela are already speculating that the country could soon join the club of dictatorships that have restricted or completely banned major social networks, including Maduro’s allies Russia, China and Iran.
A recent report by the American think tank Atlantic Council, published ahead of the July 28 election in Venezuela, indicated some reasons for the dictator’s hatred of social media.
In a country where the independent press is censored, many journalists have turned exclusively to these platforms to publish content critical of the Chavista regime.
“Indeed, social media and messaging platforms have become the main channels for accessing news in Venezuela. Instagram and Facebook are the most used platforms by Venezuelan citizens. However, journalists and politicians prefer Twitter (now X) as a source of breaking news and commentary on current events,” the report noted.
The Atlantic Council reported that TikTok is most used in Venezuela by “politically disengaged youth,” but Venezuelan activists “use social media to connect communities across the country and call for protests.”
In the case of WhatsApp, the document indicated, “the encrypted and private structure of the platform offers some protection against government surveillance, making it safer for conversations about political matters.”
Social media has become the new front in Maduro’s digital war, accustomed to blocking websites and carrying out media campaigns to demonize journalists and opponents, before ordering security forces to arrest them.
This persecution, according to the Atlantic Council, includes disinformation operations sponsored by the Chavista regime with extensive use of social networks, state media, diplomacy, foreign influencers and organizations sponsored by Venezuela in target countries.
“Venezuelan operations target not only domestic audiences but also audiences in other countries, including interfering in elections in other Latin American countries and attempting to influence judicial decisions in African countries,” the think tank highlighted.
The Venezuelan dictatorship being threatened by digital communication, which it has already used so much in the name of its sinister interests, is nothing short of poetic justice. It remains to be seen who will win this digital war.
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