Venezuela accuses Twitter of censoring after government accounts are suspended
Venezuela is not happy with Twitter, and Twitter is staying silent.
President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro accused Twitter of censoring by suspending 180 government-related Twitter accounts, including TV and radio stations, Reuters reported.
President Maduro suggested the suspensions were directed at Twitter users who supported late socialist leader Hugo Chavez, who was his predecessor.
"Twitter in Venezuela today deactivated thousands of people's accounts," Maduro said at televised rally, according to Reuters. "Simply for being 'Chavistas.'"
Twitter declined to comment to Mashable on the accusations. Twitter's guidelines say that accounts can be suspended for abusive behavior and spamming.
Still, the President of Venezuela does not want the people of his country to stop using Twitter. He said that his supporters should use Twitter to counter the opposition online.
"The battle on social media is very important."
"They killed thousands of accounts, if they shut down a thousand, we will open 10,000 or more with the youth," he said. "The battle on social media is very important."
In Venezuela, Twitter has been a battleground for hackers to take over accounts and spread misinformation. A hack called "DoubleSwitch" involves hackers taking over accounts and then switching the username.
The hack affected human rights activists and journalists in Venezuela. Twitter was able to recover two of the accounts affected, according to digital rights group Access Now.
Topics Social Media X/Twitter Politics
Kerry Flynn is a business reporter for Mashable covering the tech industry. She previously reported on social media companies, mobile apps and startups for International Business Times. She has also written for The Huffington Post, Forbes and Money magazine. Kerry studied environmental science and economics at Harvard College, where she led The Harvard Crimson's metro news and design teams and played mellophone in the Band. When not listening to startup pitches, she runs half-marathons, plays with puppies and pretends to like craft beer.
