logo
episode-header-image
May 2023
22m 37s

Venezuelan deepfakes and propaganda

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Earlier this year videos made using artificial intelligence caused a stir in Venezuela. Many Venezuelans would have thought they were real news reports but a Spanish newspaper exposed them as deepfakes and linked them to a pro-government agenda. The journalist who exposed the fakes was immediately targeted and the Venezuelan government went into damage control, responding on Twitter with the hashtag #SomosInteligenciaSocial – 'We Are Social Intelligence', seemingly to drown out criticism. But what does the hashtag mean, and how does it fit into the country’s wider theme of quashing dissent? Carl Miller delves into the murky world of the Venezuelan state’s propaganda tactics online.

Presenter: Carl Miller - co-founder of the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media at Demos and author of The Death of the Gods Producer: Reha Kansara and Rachelle Krygier Editor: Flora Carmichael

Up next
Jun 2024
Trending is moving to the Documentary Podcast
BBC Trending's podcast feed is closing, but we'll be publishing new episodes in the BBC World Service's Documentary Podcast from now on. Search for The Documentary wherever you get your BBC podcasts, and subscribe to get new episodes of BBC Trending along with a range of exciting ... Show More
43s
Jun 2024
Colombia’s guerrilla recruitment video problem
Fighters from dissident armed groups in Colombia are using TikTok to glorify their lives as guerrillas and recruit youngsters.These armed groups didn't like the terms of a peace treaty negotiated between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the government in 2016 ... Show More
18m 6s
Jun 2024
The Kenyan influencer championing climate denial
Jusper Machogu is a farmer from southwestern Kenya who describes himself as a “climate sceptic”: he wrongly claims that climate change is a “scam” or a “hoax” designed to hold Africa back. On social media, he has also become known as a staunch defender of fossil fuel exploration ... Show More
18m 7s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2023
Venezuela piles in on notorious gang-run prison
Venezuela's government clears a mega jail which, until yesterday, was more like a hotel with a nightclub, pool and even a zoo - but what does it all mean and why now?Also today what's it like hosting a podcast from a firm that's in the news itself? Why is Poland pulling its arms ... Show More
9m 59s
Apr 2023
The Americast News Feed
Scrolling through the biggest stories in America right now. With Fox News forced to defend its editorial standards, Donald Trump attacking “pudding fingers” Ron DeSantis and a conservative beer boycott spilling over, the Americast team take a few of this week’s most talked about ... Show More
43m 36s
Mar 2023
Elon Musk And The Twitter Trolls
Twitter insiders have told the BBC that the company is now much less able to protect users from trolling, state-co-ordinated disinformation and child sexual exploitation. Marianna takes the rest of the Americast team though her BBC Panorama investigation into how one of the world ... Show More
41m 43s
Dec 2023
Why are Venezuela and Guyana locked in a land dispute?
Essequibo is part of Guyana in South America - it’s got lots of oil and dense rainforests. But last Sunday, Venezuela voted to claim it in a referendum. There’s been a dispute over the region for a really long time but it’s bubbled up more recently when oil was discovered in Esse ... Show More
15m 47s
Jul 2022
Julian Assange: The threat of extradition and politics behind it | The Listening Post
The High Court in the United Kingdom is debating whether Julian Assange can appeal his extradition to the United States. Press freedom advocates say handing him over would put journalists everywhere at risk. Contributors: Tariq Ali - Author, In Defence of Julian Assange Branko Ma ... Show More
25m 15s
Apr 2022
'The word is a weapon, especially in times of war': Journalist and researcher Olga Yurkova talks about Russian propaganda - "Слово - это оружие, особенно во время войны". Журналист Ольга Юркова о росс
Interview with Olga Yurkova, journalist and co-founder of StopFake.org, an organisation dedicated to checking and debunking fake news in the global media. We talked about how Russian propaganda works, what main narratives it uses, and how the average person can tell truth from li ... Show More
43m 32s
Mar 2023
Trouble At Fox News
America's conservative cable TV channel is being sued for airing false 2020 election fraud claims. And court documents suggest that Fox News anchors reported allegations that the vote was “stolen” from Donald Trump even though they knew they were false. The Washington Post’s medi ... Show More
39m 58s
Nov 2021
Money-laundering scandal overshadows Venezuelan elections
Venezuela has just held regional elections amid a deep economic and humanitarian crisis - and now an alleged international money-laundering scheme has emerged involving a close ally of President Nicolas Maduro. The elections are the first in 15 years to include international obse ... Show More
20m 37s
Feb 2021
The death agony of capitalism: World Perspectives | MSF Conference 2021
In this podcast, we share with you a talk given by Fred Weston - editor of marxist.com - given at the recent Marxist Student Federation Conference, on the perspectives for world revolution in 2021. As the pandemic drags on and the crisis of capitalism deepens, any illusions in th ... Show More
42m 11s