| Army of Trolls of the Bolivarian Revolution | |
| Native Name: | Ejército de Trolls de la Revolución Bolivariana |
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| Headquarters: | Caracas, Venezuela |
| Motto: | Para enfrentar guerra mediática To confront media war |
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| Parent Agency: | Ministry of Interior, Justice and Peace |
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The Bolivarian Army of Trolls (Spanish; Castilian: Ejército de Trolls de la Revolución Bolivariana) is a state-sponsored Internet propaganda agency of Venezuela. It is a child agency of the Ministry of Interior, Justice and Peace that is tasked with spreading Bolivarian propaganda throughout the internet.
In May 2017, documents from the Ministry of Interior, Justice and Peace leaked surrounding the foundation of the Bolivarian Army of Trolls.[1] [2] The Army of Trolls was created to reinforce a militaristic mindset among its members, a defining characteristic of the Bolivarian government.
The Army of Trolls is organized in a military-like structure which includes:
Personnel involved are tasked with adopting the personas of accounts that range from being a chavista, an opposition-supporter or a sexual catfish.[3] Trolls are also responsible for spreading disinformation and fake news.[4]
Venezuelan NGO Instituto Prensa y Sociedad stated that the Bolivarian Army of Trolls places "journalism, freedom of expression and democracy at risk" and that its creation "extends the surveillance, opacity and censorship status to the internet that the Venezuelan government has increasingly implemented through regulations, agencies and unconstitutional orders".