Venezuela's Maduro Bans Access to X for 10 Days

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Facts

  • Following a proposal by Venezuela's telecommunications commission, Pres. Nicolás Maduro has ordered a nationwide 10-day block on access to X. As of Thursday night, posts reportedly had stopped loading on the social network.[1][2]
  • This comes as Maduro claims that X owner Elon Musk has violated the rules of his own platform and the laws of Venezuela, as they have traded barbs online since Maduro was confirmed as the winner of a contested presidential election last month.[3][4]
  • The declaration of victory for Maduro also prompted anti-government protests, which Musk allegedly incited on X, leading to thousands of arrests and about 24 deaths. The platform formerly known as Twitter has faced suspensions in several countries, and Brazil opened a probe into its owner this year.[5][6][7]
  • Earlier this week, Maduro told his supporters to stop using the Meta-owned messaging app WhatsApp and switch to Telegram and WeChat, and said Instagram and TikTok were being used to incite hatred in Venezuela.[8][9]
  • According to the country's electoral authorities, Maduro defeated opposition candidate and poll front-runner Edmundo González Urrutia, 51.2% to 44.2%. However, the opposition and countries such as Argentina, Chile, and the US dispute the results. Vote tallies have yet to be published.[10][11]
  • Maduro rose to power after the death of Hugo Chávez and was re-elected six years ago in a vote that the opposition also considered fraudulent. According to the UN, nearly one-quarter of Venezuela's population fled the country during his time in office.[12][13]

Sources: [1]Guardian, [2]Associated Press, [3]CNBC, [4]BBC News, [5]Axios, [6]Financial Times, [7]teleSURenglish, [8]Bloomberg, [9]TASS, [10]Al Jazeera, [11]CNN, [12]Raw Story and [13]Daily Mail.

Narratives

  • Left narrative, as provided by teleSURenglish. Elon Musk doesn't care about Venezuelans, let alone democracy. Given the nature of his businesses, it's easy to understand why he has decided to discuss Venezuelan politics almost daily on his social media platform: Musk wants to increase his influence with America's rising far-right and reinforce his views that the left is dangerous.
  • Right narrative, as provided by Daily Caller. Maduro's desperate refusal to leave power has sent his country into further chaos — and behaving as the dictator he is, he is now attacking every existing social media platform where he can't control information. If Elon Musk were the problem, why would Maduro also attack China-owned TikTok and Meta's Instagram and WhatsApp?
  • Right narrative, as provided by Voz Media. Maduro's desperate refusal to leave power has sent his country into further chaos — and behaving as the dictator he is, he is now attacking every existing social media platform where he can't control information. If Elon Musk were the problem, why would Maduro also attack China-owned TikTok and Meta's Instagram and WhatsApp?

Predictions