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🇻🇪 Venezuela /Culture & Society

Meta accused of validating censorship mechanisms against Venezuelan journalism

From El Nacional · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • Venezuelan researcher Maibort Petit accuses Meta and Google of validating false copyright claims to censor Venezuelan journalism.
  • She cites the suspension of El Nacional's Instagram account as an example of automated censorship.
  • Petit reports that several other Venezuelan news outlets have also faced similar restrictions, urging Meta to review its algorithms.

Venezuelan researcher and political scientist Maibort Petit has accused Meta and Google platforms of validating false copyright claims to silence free journalism. Petit highlighted the suspension of the Venezuelan newspaper El Nacional's Instagram account (@ElNacionalWeb) as part of a strategy of automated censorship. She explained that both her personal profile (@maibortpetit) and her research portal are experiencing severe restrictions on Facebook and Instagram due to fraudulent reports.

Meta has become an accomplice to censorship by validating false copyright claims to silence free journalism about Venezuela.

— Maibort PetitDenouncing Meta's role in censoring Venezuelan journalism on her X account.

According to Petit, organized groups are using this method to disable the information channels of independent media. "Meta has become an accomplice to censorship by validating false copyright claims to silence free journalism about Venezuela," she stated on her X account. Petit emphasized that El Nacional's account suspension is not an isolated incident but part of a recurring pattern in the digital sphere.

In the past six months, this practice has affected news initiatives such as La Gran Aldea, Armando.info, Con La Lupa, El Pitazo, and La Verdad de Vargas, leading to the deletion of their publications or the closure of their accounts. Petit supported statements from the National Union of Press Workers (SNTP) regarding the vulnerability created by the algorithms of major tech companies. "As the SNTP denounces, there is an abusive and coordinated use of Big Tech's automated reporting systems. They use copyright as a weapon of censorship to block information of public interest and suffocate independent media," she indicated.

As the SNTP denounces, there is an abusive and coordinated use of Big Tech's automated reporting systems. They use copyright as a weapon of censorship to block information of public interest and suffocate independent media.

— Maibort PetitExplaining the coordinated use of automated reporting systems by tech companies, referencing the National Union of Press Workers (SNTP).

The analyst requested direct intervention from Meta's management in their IT systems to halt the blocking of informational profiles in the country. Petit concluded her statement with a call to the tech company: "We demand that Meta review its algorithms, stop these arbitrary suspensions, and guarantee Venezuelans' right to information."

We demand that Meta review its algorithms, stop these arbitrary suspensions, and guarantee Venezuelans' right to information.

— Maibort PetitConcluding her statement with a call to Meta for algorithmic review and the protection of information rights.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by El Nacional in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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