Social Media platform X, has removed the grey checkmark on Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro’s handle. This action follows a disputed election that has left the South American country in crisis. Elvis Amoroso, the head of the National Electoral Council (CNE) and a close ally of Mr. Maduro, announced that with 80% of ballots counted, President Maduro held 51% of the vote, while his main rival had 44%.
The Venezuelan opposition rejected the CNE’s announcement as fraudulent and vowed to challenge the result, asserting that their candidate, Edmundo González, had actually won with 70% of the votes.
On X, the grey checkmark indicates that an account represents a government/multilateral organization or a government/multilateral official. According to the official blog, “Eligible government individuals may include: Heads of state (presidents, monarchs and prime ministers), deputy heads of state (vice presidents, deputy prime ministers), national-level cabinet members or equivalent, the main official. “
The X grey checkmark is given to government organizations at the national level , eligible government organizations at the state and local level. Removal of the Grey checkmark to leave Maduro with the blue could mean that the platform, owned by Elon Musk, has made the decision not to recognize his victory.
Protests erupted in the Venezuelan capital the day after President Nicolás Maduro claimed victory. Thousands of people descended on central Caracas on Monday evening, some walking for miles towards the presidential palace. The huge crowd of citizens chanted “freedom, freedom!” and called for the government to fall
