Last night, Twitter blocked dozens of private accounts of people linked to the Cuban regime, including former president Raúl Castro and several journalists who work for the state media. Twitter did not explain the reason for its decision and for the moment it has not answered the questions of the newspapers that asked for an account.
The Cuban Journalists' Union called it “an act of cybernetic warfare, clearly planned in advance, which seeks to limit the freedom of expression of Cuban institutions and its citizens”. In reality there is no real freedom of expression in Cuba: the Guardian recalled that independent journalism is tolerated but illegal, and several news sites critical of the government are inaccessible from the island.
Some accounts remain visible, however, such as the English-language profile of the official Communist Party newspaper, Granma.
Yesterday, just as Granma began special coverage of the Presidents television appearance, for our 16,000 followers, Twitter suspended Granma's account and those of other Cuban media # CUBA https://t.co/F4BsT8RwTk pic.twitter.com/iL0PtEFBhb
– Granma (English) (@Granma_English) September 12, 2019
