Thursday 27 September 2018

For Many In Venezuela, Social Media Is A Matter Of Life And Death

an article by Jasmine Garsd published by npr [via ResearchBuzz: Firehose]


Health workers form a human chain reading "SOS" during a protest for the lack of medicines, medical supplies and poor conditions in hospitals, in Caracas on Aug. 2.
Federico Parra/AFP/Getty Images

Guillermo does not exist — on social media at least. He has a Facebook account, but he doesn't publicly use his real name. He doesn't have a profile picture, doesn't show his location, and never posts a single thing. He mostly logs in to read about sports.

Guillermo asked that his last name be withheld — he worries about his family. They still live in Venezuela. Amid political and economic chaos, over a million Venezuelans have left the country in the last two years.

Guillermo, who lives in New York, worries that if he posts anything indicating he might have money, "someone I know, or who knows my family, could kidnap them. Just because of a picture. Because they might think that I can pay a ransom of thousands of dollars."

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