Caracas Chronicles

In a week of heavy protests throughout the country and little to no information in traditional media, many Venezuelans have taken their eyes to socials for information, debate and even a little humor to let off some steam. 

But for Nicolás Maduro, the internet is a critical battlefront. According to him, Venezuela is facing the first “fascist cybernetic coup d’état” in the history of mankind. After his regime launched the narrative that the CNE has not published the voting tallies because of a hacking attack from North Macedonia, he is now insisting that protesters’ feelings are being manipulated through big data, and has pointed at Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos, whom he called “cyber cowboys,” as the people responsible. Also, he has been whining about censorship against him on social media. 

Yesterday, Maduro called for the regulation of TikTok and Instagram. “I blame TikTok and Instagram for their responsibility in installing hate, to divide and massacre Venezuelans” he said on national television, while celebrating the anniversary of the National Guard, the military branch that has been more involved in repression. 

However, it has been Maduro and his regime who are using social media as a main tool in the most recent crackdown on Venezuelan society. To date, the post electoral chavista offensive has left a toll of over one thousand arrests, at least 22 deaths and several people disappeared, including over twenty university students from the security university UNES.

Dehumanize first, ask questions later

TikTok’s algorithm works slightly differently to Instagram or X. Through its “For You” page, it has enabled an organic exposure of content to people that you don’t necessarily know or follow but share your same interests. In this case it created an echo chamber for users that oppose the regime to have access to content filmed by other civilians, from videos of Maria Corina’s tour to endless clips of repression and arbitrary detentions that came after election day. TikTok has allowed for a closer look at the struggle through the lens of the individual, how the citizens are living the unrest.

In general, social media, the only communication space that the government can’t fully control, and that citizens can use to call for mobilizations, has served to denounce the situation in the country and document human rights violations, as it happened, for instance, with a failed revolution in Iran during the first days of Twitter. But the autocracies have also learned to take advantage of social media, and now, in Venezuela, they are increasingly being used to identify dissidents and persecute them. YouTube, X and TikTok have taken the place of the public squares of 19th century Venezuela, where the authorities nailed warnings on a post or, during the worst years of the independence wars, exhibited the heads of revolutionaries on cages. 

Last week’s national television addresses by Maduro and Tarek William Saab, his chief prosecutor, showed video confessions by detainees that included memes. The visual lexicon of the internet also weaponized. Videos of protesters were set up in a way , for instance, they used a meme well known to zoomers and millennials—tres doritos después—as a transition from the protest to people asking for forgiveness. One video featured images of three of the protesters with teary eyes and Capone’s “Oh No” playing in the background, a common song used for TikTok trends. More than once Maduro expressed at a press conference his annoyance with his technical team if the video presented was a shorter version than the one he preferred. Another video included the meme of the “Dancing Pallbearers” to convey the same message: protesters captured, defeated, and punished.

The adoption of this style is far from the forced confessions that are usually broadcasted in China or to which we have been accustomed to in previous years, such as those of Operation Gideon or even that of Juan Requesens. This format seems to be part of the rebranding of Maduro’s image that has characterized this campaign.

Diosdado Cabello has taken on YouTube a slightly different route, posting what one can only qualify as horror clips of their own actions, using classical horror figures like Jigsaw or Freddy Krueger in displays of repression and incarceration.

The announcement of arrests look more like action movie trailers than official statements. In the National Guard’s statement about the arrest of Iris Rincón for publishing a video on social media, the scene preceding her confession includes a guardsman arriving at a house and knocking, along with seconds of an allusive song: “come and open the door, I am here.” 

Humiliating and horrifying.

Another similar video published by the Directorate General of Military Counterintelligence (DGCIM) has a variation of Carol of the Bells as a background song.

Children take care!
Please be aware
All that you’ve done
Will come to bear!

We should be clear: although the use of these parodies and references seem inappropriate for a presidential broadcast, decorum and manners have ceased to be the priority of chavismo years ago, and memes have a great communicative capacity. Like jokes, they are less efficient if the receiver does not understand them or if they must be explained, as was done above; but in the opposite case, the message conveyed is clear in a much more concise manner. Memes help to present the government’s actions as entertainment and their diffusion is greater than that of an old-school advertisement, even among the opposition. Combined with the original videos, the objectives are clear: to delegitimize, ridicule and dehumanize demonstrations; to justify the recent escalation of repression; and to cause fear and discourage future mobilizations. In a society without print media, this language is a continuation of the caricature as a political weapon.

An app for snitches

Within this narrative and imaginary, Chavismo has responded in supposedly the only coherent way: Maduro announced for users of VenApp (a mobile application launched by the government in late 2022) a new option named “Report” and “Fascist guarimba” to snitch on protesters. This was not the only informant platform. On the same day, users reported and denounced that groups were created in Telegram with the same purpose, as well as the creation of a similar application: CC200.

The figure of informants in Venezuela dates back to at least 2006, when Hugo Chavez attempted to promote the so-called Snitch Law in 2008, ultimately repealing it after a strong backlash. However, every year attempts to create and activate informant networks increase, and the infamous “cooperating patriots” are cited as anonymous witnesses in criminal charges against opposition folk.

Now, this is related to the enforcement of Operation Tun Tun (Knock Knock), denounced in previous years for abusive home invasions. Underlining the motto sin lloradera, which loosely translates as “No whining,” Operacion Tun Tun is being showcased as a general offensive against thousands of citizens who helped the opposition’s organization, fueled by hate speech in government-controlled social media accounts and the efforts of snitches through VenApp. The director of the scientific police (CICPC) Douglas Rico published in his social media a message saying that “Operation Tun Tun was just starting.”

Now what?

Having exposed the situation, it begs the most important question: what can be done about it? People in the country should take care of their personal data, and reviewing the privacy settings on their apps, such as WhatsApp and Telegram, goes a long way. However, the diaspora and people abroad, including demonstrators, activists, journalists and info citizens, play a crucial role in keeping in touch with their circles inside Venezuela and spreading the news. Lack of communication translates into impunity, and therefore further repression, so it is vital to gather information in the same territory as communicating about the situation, including to the international community.

Through real life testimonies and Maria Corina fan cams, a new generation of voters have taken over TikTok, and a new chapter of micro journalism with new memes and buzzwords to freshen up the look on the opposition leaders. Another phenomenon that’s happened among the TikTok fauna is the newfound outing of influencers that have received previous financial support or that are directly related to the lines of the government. Posting their full information, or doxxing them, and their lavish lifestyles for the entire world to see, in an attempt to turn down their platform, closing their accounts, or at the very least, deactivating their comment sections.

Telegram groups for informants were deleted in a matter of a few hours or days after being reported by the community, and the VenApp app was removed from both the PlayStore and AppStore. We should not underestimate our networks and should strive to maintain them.