SNTP condemns suspension of El Nacional's Instagram account

The National Union of Press Workers (SNTP) in Venezuela has condemned the suspension of El Nacional's Instagram account, labeling it part of a systematic pattern of digital censorship. The account, which boasted over 4 million followers, was suspended on July 26 following fraudulent copyright violation complaints.

The SNTP highlighted that El Nacional is not the only media outlet targeted by such tactics. Over the past six months, other Venezuelan digital media organizations, including La Gran Aldea, Armando.info, Con La Lupa, El Pitazo, and La Verdad de Vargas, have also faced content removal or the disabling of their official profiles. The union warned about the abusive and malicious use of platform moderation tools, which they believe are employed to silence critical journalism and restrict the circulation of public interest information.

"These practices are even more serious in a context where dozens of Venezuelan digital media outlets remain blocked, reducing the channels available to access independent information," the SNTP stated in a release on X. The suspension of El Nacional's Instagram account, @ElNacionalWeb, has now lasted three weeks.

El Nacional has initiated the formal procedures required by Meta, Instagram's parent company, to reactivate the account. However, as of the report, the account has not yet been restored. The media outlet continues to maintain active presence on other social media platforms, including X, TikTok, and Facebook.

“

These practices are even more serious in a context where dozens of media digital venezolanos remain blocked, reducing the channels available to access independent information.