The Venezuelan government is paying people to tweet in support of it.
By Reha Kansara and Rachelle KrygierRafael - not his real name - is a massive internet nerd. At 59 years old, he is active on all the main social media platforms, dabbles in cryptocurrencies and even calls himself an influencer.Rafael is also part of a group of Venezuelans being paid by the state to tweet propaganda.
"The idea is to maintain a collective narrative. The fight against the enemy [the West] still exists," explains Prof Félix Seijas from the Central University of Venezuela. BBC Trending has seen a few private groups operating on Facebook and Telegram, with between 700 and 3,000 members, which share the latest hashtag to encourage each other to tweet.Despite frequently sharing content in support of the government, he does not support it, because of the arbitrary arrests, expropriations, insufficient wages and Mr Maduro's "lack of charisma".As a security guard for a private company, Rafael earns the equivalent of $80 a month.
"This is very dangerous because when you see what is trending and you see that most of the hashtags are supposedly supporting the government, it's hard to know what's actually happening in the country."Image caption, On Twitter, the Ministry of Communications said the hashtag of the day was #SomosInteligenciaSocial or WeAreSocialIntelligence.
Rafael sent us proof of the payments he received in return for tweeting propaganda. They were screenshots of transfers made into Sistema Patria, a social security app created by the government which gives Venezuelans access to subsidies, and allows them to receive public salaries and state pensions, among other things. From March to April, his statements showed he made the equivalent of nearly $10.
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