Cuba slams US authorities after secret social media plot is uncovered
Cuban authorities have held up an investigation by the Associated Press as proof of US authorities’ attempts to destabilise the country after details emerged of a secret government social media programme.
Investigation: AP uncovered a secret social media programme
The investigation from AP, published this week, uncovered the ‘ZunZuneo’ programme, a plan to create a social network based on text message and methods that could evade the Cuban authorities. The plan reportedly involved attracting users, primarily younger people, through light news and entertainment before gradually encouraging dissent and unrest once a significant user base had been built.
The programme operated from 2009 and vanished in 2012 with around 40,000 subscribers.
The news of the undercover social network financed by the United States has featured heavily in Cuban broadcasts.
State TV news reports stated: “Castro’s denunciations of the US government’s destabilising attempts against Cuba were corroborated by today’s revelation of a plan to push Cuban youth toward the counterrevolution, with the participation of a US agency.”
Social media has been an important component in revolutions in countries such as Egypt and Libya in recent years.