TeleSUR
Venezuela has been the target of an intense international communications campaign based on hatred and the undermining of the country’s democratic foundations.
Driven by international actors, troll centers and media aligned with external interests, the implementation of a strategy to destabilize the Venezuelan government and question the transparency and legitimacy of the elections is evident.
These actions are part of a campaign of hate and psychological operations aimed at generating anxiety, uncertainty, frustration and helplessness in the population and thus leading them to situations beyond any rationality.
The actions, which are carried out in an inorganic manner, at least in appearance, are based on coordination and rely on significant human and economic resources to spread hate speech and fake news with unusual scope.
Added to this strategy is the establishment of alleged NGOs and the presentation of reports without any support in the field or in the territory or even pollsters, which offer input to both the media and influencers, who in this way validate their speeches on the Venezuelan situation.
The final instance is the validation of these discourses when they are replicated by top-level agencies and media.
This week, teleSUR addressed the communication campaign against Venezuela from different angles, with the help of specialized analysts who explain how these digital and media war actions are developed.
Digital platforms, platforms of hate
Julián Macías, an expert in network analysis and activist against digital disinformation, has highlighted the use of various tactics to spread fake news and generate viral content as part of the hate campaign carried out internationally.
One of the actors singled out by the specialist is Atlas Network, a global association that brings together dozens of far-right think tanks, with a lot of influence in the United States and Latin America and which is beginning to spread its wings in Europe in the face of the rise and consolidation of ultra-conservative parties.
Macías points out that after investigating the origin of the “digital fraud” against the Venezuelan electoral process, of the 10 accounts with the greatest impact, several are linked to Atlas Network.
“There are different influencers who belong to this network and who have a great influence in the conversation with other accounts that pretend to be media outlets such as UHN Plus or Alerta News 24 Horas that have total hegemony,” says the specialist. At the same time, he points out the use of “meme accounts” that through parodies reach tens of thousands of retweets. With these operations, Macías points out that “this is not a one-off thing, it is an organic thing. It is not a meme account that published this by chance; there are dozens of accounts in different countries doing the same thing.”
Among the content generated by these types of accounts are the use of Argentina’s celebrations after winning the World Cup or images of the Rio de Janeiro carnival as if they were demonstrations in support of the far-right candidate Maria Corina Machado. All of these are replicated massively and thus amplify their reach. Fake content also includes manipulated images, such as the case of a police officer pointing at a pleading woman, when in fact the video of the entire sequence shows that such a scene never happened.
However, despite the obvious falseness of bot accounts, communication agencies give this type of content a massive reach and incorporate influencers, many of them linked to the Atlas Network.
“Felipe Calderón, the former president of Mexico who works for the IADG (Atlas Network) retweeted this account dozens of times spreading hoaxes like this one with more than 50K rts” the specialist posted on his personal account.
Meanwhile, Macías points out that these types of operations “cost money, but then there are invited influencers, that also costs money, and there are people and organizations very involved in the entire campaign. There are different actors such as María Corina Machado herself, Milei himself, Bolsonaro and Donald Trump with Steve Bannon as a guru and a lot of people without any scruples in using lies, hatred and bot farms on digital platforms to generate a reality, a parallel narrative.”
Los mass media
For political communications expert Flavia Carrato, who has closely followed the development of this media campaign aimed at the Venezuelan electoral process, “we are witnessing a coordinated effort to manipulate the international perception of the elections in Venezuela.”
The strategy, which began months before the actual election, has established, article after article, report after report, the idea of an alleged lack of credibility in the voting system of the Bolivarian Republic.
Carrato points out that “the media are using language and a narrative that seeks to sow distrust in the Venezuelan electoral system, presenting it as fraudulent or unreliable, without providing conclusive evidence.”
He also points out that this strategy is not new, but rather part of a recurring pattern in situations where geopolitical interests are at stake. “What is sought with this campaign is to undermine voters’ confidence in their own electoral system, generating a feeling of uncertainty and delegitimization. It is a way of preparing the ground to justify external interventions or more severe sanctions,” he explains.
A closer look at international media reports shows that many of the accusations are based on unreliable reports, opinions of supposed experts and anonymous testimonies, without solid factual support. Carrato notes that “these types of reports are designed to be replicated on social media and other media, amplifying the message and creating a false impression of consensus on the alleged illegitimacy of the Venezuelan electoral process.”
The expert points out that one of the most common tactics is to use sensational headlines that attract attention but do not reflect the complexity of the situation in Venezuela. “Stories are published that suggest electoral manipulation or authoritarianism, but when analyzed in depth, they often lack substantial evidence. The goal is not to inform, but to influence public opinion,” she says.
Carrato also highlights the role of social media in spreading this narrative. “Social media has become a battlefield where these false narratives spread rapidly. By using bots and fake accounts, these messages are amplified, generating a perception of crisis that does not correspond to the reality in Venezuela.”
The media’s delegitimization of public opinion in order to manipulate it and subsequently favor external action threatens, for Carrato, not only a government, but also directly attacks “the sovereignty of the country and the right of Venezuelans to decide their future without external interference.”
The fight against fascism
The communication campaign against the Venezuelan electoral process has not only managed to affect the perception of the West regarding institutional quality, but it also has consequences within the country since it acts at the level of the voters’ morality, making them believe that their participation will not make any difference, generating helplessness and hatred and, finally, this feeling is attempted to be taken to the streets by the extreme right, such as María Corina Machado’s calls to “get paid”, an updated version of what was previously “the exit” or “until the end”.
Given this situation, specialists point out the need to generate legislation and tools to counteract these strategies designed and applied by international fascism.
“We have to learn to deconstruct the whole from the details, to destroy the hybrid war strategy applied,” said Angela Carrato to Beto Almeida on the Latitud Brasil program. Carrato points out the integration between the nations and peoples of Latin America as fundamental to confront the campaigns of hate and destabilization aimed at diluting sovereign states and subordinating them to the interests of large corporations and the United States.
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