AI avatars protect journalists in Venezuela

Reporters maintain anonymity through AI - 30th September 2024

In Venezuela, journalists have turned to 21st century technology in order to report on protests in the country following the results of the disputed general election on 28th July. Incumbent president Nicolas Maduro claimed success and clamped down on widespread protests. To date, 23 people have been killed and over 1,400 people have been arrested.

To safeguard journalists reporting on the situation, online news broadcasts are being presented by 2 avatars, La Chama and El Pana - loosely translated as 'the girl' and 'the dude'. The initiative involves 20 Venezuelan news and fact-checking outlets, over 100 journalists and is coordinated by Colombia based journalism platform Connectas.

Director of Connectas, Carlos Eduardo, said that the authoritarian climate imposed by Maduro meant that "being on camera is no longer so sensible". 'The dude' announced at the end of the inaugural broadcast "Although we are generated by AI our content is real, verified, of high quality and created by journalists" whilst 'the girl' added their aim was "to spread the word of what was really happening in Venezuela."

Known as Operation Retweet, the news bulletins are designed to be used in short clips distributed via social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram or shared via messenger platforms like WhatsApp, but even then photos of the anti-government demonstrations have to be distorted to prevent the government tracking down those taking part.

The level of restriction on freedom of speech in the country is nothing new as print publications have had their access to paper restricted. Currently, local internet providers have blacklisted the URLs of sites not aligned to the government, and television and radio programmes are under threat of being pulled from the air for disagreeing with the Maduro line.

At least 16 journalists have been arrested since the elections and 12 remain behind bars, charged with anything from incitement to hatred and treason but with others not given a reason for their detention.

Whilst there remain doubts about how long journalists can hide behind their AI counterparts Operation Retweet has just launched a service in English and intends to spread the word further by rolling it out in other languages - with a bit of AI assistance.