VenezuelaS Maduro Government Amplifies Propaganda on โX Despite Platformโข Blockade
CARACAS, โVenezuela – Even as Venezuela’s government blocksโค access too the social media platform โคX (formerly โTwitter) for millionsโ of citizens, a covert โคstate-sponsored propaganda operationโค is actively leveraging the โplatform to disseminate pro-Maduro narratives, according to aโ new investigation. Theโค operation, โcoordinated through a government request and led by officials like Dayra Rivas, aims to control data and โdiscredit โขcritics, experts say.
The investigation, detailed by el Nacional, reveals a elegant network designed to โฃamplify messages and reinterpretโ news events in favorโฃ of the โruling โChavismo movement. Tactics include the coordinated use of propaganda hashtags – such as #VolkerViolaDDHH, targetingโฃ the UN Highโข Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Tรผrk – and campaigns โto discreditโ Venezuelan activists and journalists.
Central to the operation is Siscom,โฃ an official application of the Ministryโ of Popular Power for Communication โคand Information (Mippci). El Nacional reports Siscom distributes content and dissemination manuals to thousands of users, and is even available on the Google Play Store.
Screenshots from Telegram โคgroups show โฃRivas, a โขkey figure inโ the operation, issuing directives to followers, includingโ commands like “Maximum dissemination. Immediately, please,” and providing specific โขguidance on framing โnews, ranging from military videos to international events like a lady Gaga concert in Brazil. The operation frequently directs users to content on Dracarys’ X account and Telegram channel.
Experts warn this strategy represents a deliberateโ attempt at information control. “This combination of blocking and state propaganda sets up aโ scenario of โselective censorship and information control,” theโข report states.
Valentina Ballesta, Deputy Directorโ of Research forโฃ the americas at Amnesty International, condemned the X blockade as “an attack on โฃfreedom of expression and the right to receive information.” Sheโข further noted the โhypocrisy of state officials continuing to utilize the platform for political purposes, “making โคthe lack of legitimacy of the measure even more evident.”
Andrรฉs Azpรบrua,โ director โof the โdigital observatory VE Sin โFiltro, highlighted the government’s “dualโ strategy: itโฃ restricts access to citizensโ while using โขthe same tools to position its narrative.”
Espacio Pรบblico, a Venezuelan NGO, described the situation as aโค “structural contradiction,” stating, “It is indeedโ a โคparadox toโฃ arbitrarily prevent access to millions of users and, simultaneously occurring, โallocate public resources for aโ digital operation aimed atโ criminalizing critics and opponents.”
Theโ investigation concludes that the โMaduro government hasn’t abandoned X, but has rather transformed it into a โ”controlled and โฃstrategic field,” exploiting the blockade to amplify its message โคwithout opposition, utilizing public funds andโ a sophisticated digital propaganda infrastructure.
