Marco Rubio Describes as “Impressive” Today’s Anti-Chavista Demonstration in Venezuela Using a Fake Video
The US senator for the state of Florida, Marco Rubio, shared a video on Saturday as a sample of the “impressive” turnout on the march called by the opposition deputy, Juan Guaidó, which took place on November 16. However, this audiovisual record belongs to January 23, 2019. In the face of such a video-fake, social media reactions were swift.
Through his account on the social network Twitter, Rubio shared an article from the Associated Press (AP) agency that states that the concentrations on Saturday “lacked the size and combativeness of the demonstrations in January.”
This report indicates turnout for today’s anti-Maduro demonstrations isn’t large: https://t.co/jbfdlh8bsQ
Maybe I am missing something but the videos I am getting look pretty impressive to me. #Venezuela pic.twitter.com/vxPDz32yZ8
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 16, 2019
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“The march was not what Guaidó and his supporters expected, especially at a time when the region has become inflamed with massive urban protests,” said analyst Daniel Lansberg-Rodríguez, whose testimony was reported by AP.
In view of this unfavorable review, Rubio came out in defense of the march called by Guaidó: “This report indicates that participation in today’s anti-Maduro demonstrations is not great (…) Maybe I’m missing something, but the videos that I am receiving seems to me quite impressive. ”
This message from the US senator was accompanied with a video of an opposition march on January 23, which took place on Cedeño Avenue in the city of Valencia, Carabobo state.
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Fooled or part of the scam?
Faced with this video-fake, Twitter users reacted in different ways: some chose to hold on to the idea that Rubio was “fooled”, while others said he is “part of the scam.”
“Respectfully Senator, don’t be fooled. That crowd did not come out today on November 16, that video is old. Do you remember when they told you that they had poisoned the deputy Superlano in Cúcuta? It was a lie, he was having sex with prostitutes and they gave him burundanga,” said @yasmincnunez.
This comment gave rise to @AlfredoOrtega indicating: “He already knows, Yasmín, but he made the decision, instead of rectifying, to stick with with his decision to support Guaidó and to convince Trump to do so as well.”
In tune, the Internet user @gnayzw said: “Senator Rubio, they saw you coming! That video is from Av. Cedeño de Valencia, Carabobo, but from January 23, 2019.”
“Someone is lying to you pal. Here is the original video,” he added.
For his part, @pedroperezbla considered Rubio “part of the scam.” This statement accompanied with a tweet, published this Friday, in which the senator invited people to participate in the march on November 16.
“My apologies Marco Rubio. I supported you under the banner of the Guaidó Challenge because at least there was the benefit of the doubt, but this is a total fake. This video is not from today’s call. People are disappointed with Guaidó and that can’t be hidden,” said Internet user @JennyAvila.
Translated by JRE/EF
