The socialist dictator of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, claimed that the Chinese social media platform TikTok “censored” his account during one of his live broadcasts on Saturday.
Maduro further alleged that global social media platforms are conspiring against him and his regime as part of an international “censorship” campaign.
Maduro — whose socialist regime has engaged in an array of mass censorship campaigns targeting all forms of media in the country and has systematically cracked down on freedom of speech throughout the past two decades — claimed that the Chinese platform suspended his account during a live transmission of the inauguration of an avenue in the Venezuelan state of Anzoátegui.
Maduro’s accusations, made during the Saturday inauguration event that TikTok allegedly censored, were broadcast by state-owned media.
#EnVideo📹| Jefe de Estado, @NicolasMaduro, denunció una campaña mediática en redes sociales en su contra para evitar interactuar con el pueblo y el mundo.#LoMásFinoEsNico pic.twitter.com/5YWXXDDYmP
— VTV CANAL 8 (@VTVcanal8) June 29, 2024
“We were transmitting live on TikTok, Cilia [Flores, his wife], and they censored the account, my account was shut down. What is the fear? Who said fear?” he asked. “You think that censoring me on social media is going to stop these people? These people will not be stopped by anyone, compadre. Not even TikTok, not even a thousand TikToks. I carry the sling of David against Goliath and the empire of evil.”
Maduro has not provided any evidence to substantiate his accusations, and his TikTok account remains active at press time.
Maduro has sought to “rebrand” through extensive use of TikTok, constantly posting content that portrays the dictator as a more “approachable” and “relatable” individual while making less use of the traditional, Soviet-inspired imagery and red tones of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).
The Venezuelan dictator’s “rebrand” is meant to distract from the growing list of gross human rights violations committed by his socialist regime and the collapse of socialism in Venezuela under his watch. Maduro’s rule has resulted in the worst migrant crisis in the region, with more than 7.7 million Venezuelans having fled from socialism over the past decade. Maduro has also ordered that high-ranking members of his socialist regime and his sympathizers join him on TikTok to post pro-regime content.
Maduro and members of his regime soon began accusing TikTok and other social media platforms — such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram — of censoring the socialist dictator ahead of the July 28 sham presidential election but have failed to provide any evidence to substantiate the claims.
In response to the alleged “censorship” campaigns, Maduro ordered his sympathizers to flood social media with pro-Maduro content.
Local anti-censorship, non-government organizations have accused the Maduro regime of using the purported “censorship” campaign and its “response” as an excuse to enact a coordinated strategy to force the content algorithms of social media platforms to promote regime propaganda and push a favorable image of Maduro online.
The Maduro regime, which has not provided any evidence that proves that it is the victim of social media censorship campaigns, has forcefully shut down more than 500 media outlets in Venezuela throughout its more than 25 years in power.
Members of the Maduro regime have also used the nation’s courts to forcefully seize assets of media outlets and force internet providers to block access to social media and other websites at specific moments to curb the reach of dissenting messages.
Venezuela’s National College of Journalists (CNP) released a report on June 26 announcing that it recorded 62 cases of aggression against journalists and media outlets during the first four months of 2024, an amount that doubles CNP’s records during that same time in 2023.
The Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) announced in April that Venezuela suffers from an “almost total information blackout” due to the lack of independent written media and the silencing of local television channels and radio stations. The IAPA also revealed that the Maduro regime bought local newspapers, forcing independent newspapers online — where they are subject to the socialist regime’s internet censorship.
Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.
