Video: Social Media As a Tool of Democracy in Venezuela
Video: Social Media As a Tool of Democracy in Venezuela
Watch a discussion between experts from Twitter, Sin Mordaza, and Human Rights Watch on the power of platforms such as Twitter to document human rights violations in the country.
Speakers:
- Colin Crowell, Vice President, Global Public Policy & Corporate Philanthropy, Twitter
- Rodrigo Diamanti, Director, Un Mundo Sin Mordaza
- Daniel Wilkinson, Managing Director for the Americas, Human Rights Watch
- Raúl Stolk, Lawyer and Writer; Chairman, Caracas Chronicles (moderator)
Fake news is a problem, but the truth can spread just as quickly, Twitter's Colin Crowell said in a panel that started with a discussion on the importance of citizen journalists in Venezuela. Human Rights Watch's Daniel Wilkinson explained how Venezuelan citizens' active use of social media and videos is crucial to document human rights violations today. For Rodrigo Diamanti of Un Mundo sin Mordaza, the International Criminal Court's decision in February to open a preliminary investigation into human rights abuses by the Maduro government is "the best thing that has happened to Venezuela in the last five years." Diamanti also said that one of his greatest concerns is that the Maduro regime is moving toward cutting off the internet entirely in the country in the interest of self-preservation, and he urged the international community to move proactively to safeguard the internet before that could happen.
