President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela has taken a bold move by ordering a 10-day block on access to Twitter in the country. The action was directed at the platform’s owner, Elon Musk, accusing him of using the social network to incite hatred following Venezuela’s controversial presidential election.
Reports from Associated Press journalists in Caracas revealed that posts on Twitter stopped loading by Thursday night on private phone services and the state-owned Movilnet.
During a speech after a pro-government march, Maduro criticized Musk, stating that the tech mogul violated the platform’s rules by promoting hatred. Maduro also accused the social network of fueling political unrest by his opponents.
Maduro explained that he signed a resolution, based on a proposal from the National Telecommunications Commission (CONATEL), to suspend Twitter in Venezuela for 10 days. The president did not provide specific details about the process leading to the decision.
Twitter’s press office did not respond immediately to a request for comment on the situation by the Associated Press.
This move comes in the aftermath of a public dispute between Maduro and Musk over Venezuela’s disputed presidential election in July. While electoral authorities declared Maduro as the winner, no official voting tallies have been released. On the other hand, the opposition claims their candidate, Edmundo González, received the majority of votes based on data from electronic voting machines.
Musk, utilizing Twitter, accused Maduro of electoral fraud, calling out the Venezuelan leader and his government.
President Maduro has been vocal about the need to regulate social media platforms in Venezuela, citing the alleged use of Twitter by adversaries to intimidate his followers, their families, as well as security personnel, creating a state of unrest in the country.
