After more than a decade of intense government-sponsored disinformation and propaganda in social media and also the companion of censorship of independent media outlets, Venezuelans had to learn to circumvent censorship. Venezuelans who are interested in following the news and who are politically active, make a lot of effort to access information. Venezuelans have been learning how to use VPNs and have been learning how to use different communications to share news using social media platforms.
We have been talking about how the regime weaponized social media platforms to repress, to control and to surveil citizens, but citizens have also learned how to use those same platforms and those things to share information, to work together, to organize and to build communities.
Social media platforms in Venezuela are the battleground on which the regime and the democratic forces have had constant clashes, trying to win over the opinions and shared ideas.