President Nicolás Maduro has ordered a 10-day block on access to X in Venezuela, accusing the owner Elon Musk of using the social network to promote hatred after the country’s disputed presidential election.
Associated Press journalists in Caracas found that by Thursday night, posts had stopped loading on X on two private telephone services and state-owned Movilnet.
“Elon Musk is the owner of X and has violated all the rules of the social network itself,” said Maduro in a speech following a march by pro-government groups. Maduro alleged Musk “has incited hatred.”
Maduro also accused the social network of being used by his opponents to create political unrest.
Venezuela’s president said he had signed a resolution “with the proposal made by CONATEL, the National Telecommunications Commission, which has decided to remove the social network X, formerly known as Twitter, from circulation in Venezuela for 10 days so that they can present their documents.”
Maduro did not provide more details about the process taken against X.
X’s press office did not immediately respond to an email from AP requesting comment.
“X out for 10 days! Elon Musk out!” Maduro said.
“President’s Statement Follows Heated Exchange Between Maduro and Musk Over Venezuela’s Contested Presidential Election
The controversy surrounds the July 28 election, where electoral authorities declared Maduro the winner without releasing voting results.
In contrast, the opposition claims to have obtained records from over 80% of the 30,000 electronic voting machines, indicating their candidate, Edmundo González, as the true winner.
Musk took to social media to accuse Maduro of perpetrating a “great electoral fraud.” The exchange escalated tensions between the two leaders, prompting the president’s recent announcement.
“Shame on the dictator Maduro,” Musk said on Monday in a post.
Since the election, Maduro has expressed the need to “regulate” social networks in Venezuela.
Maduro also condemned the use of the social platform by his opponents to intimidate and threaten the families of his supporters, political allies, military personnel, and police officers, aiming to create a climate of fear and anxiety in Venezuela.
Similarly, in January 2021, the Nigerian government under then President Muhammadu Buhari “indefinitely suspended” Twitter’s operations in the country.
“The Federal Government has suspended, indefinitely, the operations of the microblogging and social networking service, Twitter, in Nigeria,” a statement by the information ministry said.
The government accused the social media company of allowing its platform to be used “for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence.”
The ban was lifted on January 13, 2022.