DISINFO: The US has organised a destabilisation operation to bring about regime change in Cuba using bot campaigns on Twitter
SUMMARY
The US has organised a destabilisation operation to bring about regime change in Cuba using bot campaigns on Twitter. This operation began with the hashtag #SOSCuba, using the same method used in other US-sponsored regime change programs, such as the overthrow of Bolivian president Evo Morales in 2019, and the attempted coup d’état against Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro.
RESPONSE
This is a pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about recent anti-government protests in Cuba. This narrative fits into a broader pro-Kremlin narrative about “colour revolutions” allegedly promoted by the US or other Western actors around the world to overthrow governments that are unwelcome to the West. This narrative often claims that the US uses social media technologies to foment protests and destabilise governments targeted for regime change.
Pro-Kremlin media frequently portray popular protests around the world as colour revolutions instigated by the US/West (such as the protests in Ukraine, Belarus, Venezuela, Hong Kong). This narrative claims that protests, disorders and civil uprisings are never manifestations of popular discontent but are "colour revolutions" directed and funded by Western governments or intelligence services, portrayed as aggressive actors constantly preparing new coups.
The article’s claim that recent anti-government protests in Cuba were organised by the US does not reflect reality. A series of ongoing protests against the Cuban government and the ruling Communist Party of Cuba began on 11 July 2021, triggered by the shortage of food and medicine and the government's response to the resurgent COVID-19 pandemic in Cuba. The protests come amid a severe economic crisis. The protests, which started on 11 July, were not only the biggest but also the most widespread to be held in Cuba in decades. The protests are the largest anti-government demonstrations since the Maleconazo in 1994.
Furthermore, although the United States "applauds the Bolivian people for demanding freedom", there is no evidence to suggest that the US was directly involved in Evo Morales' resignation. Morales’ resignation came during mass protests in the country after the Organisation of American States (OAS) reported “extensive irregularities” in the election for his fourth term. Read the full debunk by Polygraph.
There is also no evidence of official US involvement in the failed military incursion of May 1, 2020 in Venezuela. Associated Press carried out a thorough investigation of the operation but found no indication that the US government supported the actions of Jordan Goudreau, the promoter of the attempt, nor that US president Donald Trump had authorised covert operations against Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.
Read similar cases claiming that The US is trying to arrange a "colour revolution" in Cuba, that The US is behind the resignation of Evo Morales, that Protests in Cuba are not genuine but provoked by the US, and that the US government is behind an alleged coup in Venezuela.