I was told to put up or shut up in yesterday's diary, A reality check about the Venezuela uprising. I was told to provide links to publications that led me to be skeptical about the Venezuela protest talking points...
So, here is a link to some tweets with photos claimed to have been snapped in Venezuela, but actually were taken elsewhere, to ramp up opposition to the democratically elected President Maduro of Venezuela among young people. I found this link in a Truthout.org article, Violent Protests in Venezuela Fit a Pattern, which they certainly do. Having read about the 2002 violent protests that led to the kidnapping of Hugo Chavez, the previous democratically elected Venezuelan President, I noticed the similarities straight away. I hope to write more about this later in another diary.
The first photo is a before and after picture of a torture victim who they allege is a Venezuelan student beaten by PSUV "fascist murderers," but in reality is a photograph of Unai Romano, a youth held, beaten and tortured in 2005 by Spanish police.
The second photo tweeted by Daniela Frías is supposed to be a picture of a Venezuelan student about to cry, trying to hug a cop. "You and I are Venezuelans, my buddy," says the text of the tweet, however, the photo actually corresponds to events in Bulgaria in 2013.
The 3rd photo is supposedly a Venezuelan student grabbed by the neck and dragged by Venezuelan police, but actually is a student in Chile from October 2011.
The 4th photo is a long human chain supposedly demonstrating against Maduro in Táchira, but the photo really is a human chain in Catalonia, Spain, in September 2013 protesting in favor of independence from Spain.
The 5th photo was tweeted by actress, Amanda Gutierrez, of a man allegedly being forced to perform oral sex on two policemen, implying he was an arrested student, tortured and raped by Venezuelan officers, but is really a page from an American adult publication.
The 6th photo, which appeared on the cover of the Argentine daily Clarin on February 13, 2014, is the image of a man with a gun, with a caption implying that he had fired into the crowd, when in reality he was guarding 5 burning vehicles.
The 7th photo was supposedly a picture of a student being shot with buckshot with the caption, "Dictatorship! Just for wearing a button," but the photo was really taken in Rio de Janeiro in June 2013.
The 8th photo was supposedly of a Venezuelen policeman kicking a dog, with the caption: "The National Guard does not forgive dogs. Could it be that the dog is a fascist Nazi?" but the photo really is of a Greek Loukanikos dog, during the anti-capitalist protests in Greece.
The 9th photo claims that a child was injured in Táchira by "Bolivarian hosts," but the photo really is of a wounded child crying in Syria.
The 10th photo is of a man wearing a neck brace after he was struck by protesters, who twitterers claimed was faking, because they allege he was wearing the collar backwards, but the chart to the right shows that he was wearing the collar properly.
The 11th photo is a photo of an alleged Venezuelen woman being dragged by police with her shirt open, but this event really occurred in Egypt, 2011.
This 12th photo has a caption that says it's necessary to show this photo of Vuelta to the world, Dead students in Maracay, but it's really a photo taken in Syria.
This video is a news report about a young man, Ramon Soto, whose photo was tweeted and shown on CNN incorrectly as a victim of the Venezuelan government during the February 12, 2014 demonstration, but who was beaten on April 11, 2013, demonstrating for the United Socialist Party of Venezuela.