Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro Bans X for 10 Days after Public Dispute with Elon Musk

• After Elon Musk publicly accused Maduro of committing election fraud, the latter announced a 10-day ban on X.
• Internet monitoring firm NetBlocks confirmed that X is now officially restricted in Venezuela.
• But Musk isn't the only one, and many western countries, including the USA, believe Maduro didn't actually win the election.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has announced that he plans to ban social media platform X for 10 days in the country. This comes after he had a public spat with X's owner, Elon Musk, over the contested elections that Maduro claimed to have won.

Elon Musk has also been accused of violating rules by intentionally inciting hatred, fascism, and civil war.

Maduro has already signed a proposal with the National Telecommunications Commission (Conatel), and the result is already noticeable: internet monitoring firm NetBlocks confirmed that X is now restricted in Venezuela.

Many of the country's internet service providers were found cutting off access to the platform. Some displayed a zero availability" message while others put up a restricted access" label.

Read more: Venezuela blocks Binance amid post-election unrest

What Exactly Happened?

Maduro and Musk recently had a public disagreement over the latest Venezuelan elections that Maduro claims to have won, but Musk and others believe that he lost.

So, in a post on X, Elon Musk accused Maduro of committing election fraud, said he's not a good guy," and wrote Shame on Dictator Maduro."

In response, Maduro challenged Elon Musk on live national television and said, Elon Musk, I'm ready. I'm not afraid of you... Let's fight, wherever you want." Then, in another X post, Musk said, I accept."

Interestingly, Elon Musk isn't the only one who doesn't believe that Maduro's win is legitimate. Last week, the U.S. said that it's pretty sure Maduro lost the elections because a key opposition leader has been in hiding ever since out of fear for her life.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that there's enough evidence to prove that Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia won the most votes in Venezuela's July 28 presidential elections.

Maduro and his team have obviously rejected these allegations and called them ridiculous. Venezuela's foreign minister Yvan Gil even went on to say that the U.S. might be planning a coup.

What's the Truth?

We don't even need to go all the way to the U.S. to find claims that Maduro's win is dishonest. After the results were announced and Maduro was declared the winner with 51% of the votes, widespread protests broke out in the country.

Most Venezuelans aren't fans of Maduro's authoritarian reign, which is why they didn't want to see him return for a third term. Few even promised to leave the country if he was elected again.

The most surprising part is that before the elections, the polling figures looked strong for the opposition, which had Edmundo Gonzalez as the presidential candidate.

A huge chunk of the population, especially the youth, were supporting the opposition leader, so a sudden twist at the end undoubtedly left people with doubt.

This was the first time in 25 years that any opposition party managed to challenge the ruling government to this extent. Naturally, this defeat was a solemn affair for a lot of Venezuelans, and the fact that it looked so unlikely is why Elon Musk's claims seem to be true.

The post Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro Bans X for 10 Days after Public Dispute with Elon Musk appeared first on The Tech Report.