Another X account linked to Mippci is spreading covert propaganda on the platform, violating X’s rules by changing its handle to pose as an information hub
The official account of Venezuela’s Ministry of People’s Power for Communication and Information (Mippci) on the social network X was renamed during 2025 and now operates as a purported information hub that publishes content about “national and international events.”
Despite having publicly announced its withdrawal from the platform, the renaming of Mippci’s official account reveals a shift toward the dissemination of covert propaganda.
This change of identity occurred months after the platform was blocked in Venezuela—an order issued in August 2024 by Nicolás Maduro’s government on the grounds that X had “violated” its usage policies by “inciting hatred, fascism, civil war, death, and confrontation among Venezuelans.” The censorship of X was carried out by the National Telecommunications Commission (Conatel), an entity attached to the Ministry of Communication and Information itself, marking a turning point in the digital communication strategy of Maduro’s administration.
“That’s how it is, manao!”
In the final days of October, activity was detected from the account @LoQSeDic—short for “Lo que se dice”, roughly “what people say” or “what’s being said”—, an anonymous X account that amplifies propaganda in favor of Nicolás Maduro and his government. According to its bio, the account was created in March 2017, currently has over 571,000 followers, and describes itself in Spanish, as: “The pulse of national and international events. We understand the world and tell you about it. That’s how it is, manao!”—Venezuelan slang for “bro”.
Despite its age and large follower count, the account’s change of identity had gone unnoticed until now, so its user ID (Twitter ID) was checked using the tool TweetHunter to confirm its authenticity. The query showed its X ID is 839299289792774144—the same as the X account of Venezuela’s Ministry of People’s Power for Communication and Information (Mippci), created on March 8, 2017 as @Mippcivzla—according to a review using Twitonomy.
The last known post from this profile, when it was still using the handle @Mippcivzla—shared through Mippci’s Telegram channel and is archived in the Wayback Machine— is dated August 9, 2024. In that post, the ministry promoted the hashtag #HastaProntoX (#SeeYouLaterX), linked to the decision by official accounts to stop publishing content on the platform, following a proposal by Conatel to temporarily suspend the use of X for an initial period of 10 days.
It can also be confirmed that @LoQSeDic and @Mippcivzla are the same account based on the replies some users left under its earlier posts—comments, requests for help, reports, or complaints—addressed to the ministry or mentioning “Mippci” directly.
In an attempt to remove evidences linking the two handles, many tweets published by @Mippcivzla in the second half of 2024 were deleted. However, @LoQSeDic still retains approximately 355,000 tweets from before the name change, originally posted by @Mippcivzla.
However, during this investigation, earlier posts were found in which the former @Mippcivzla account featured various hashtags as the “Tag of the Day,” corresponding to official propaganda or disinformation campaigns that had been previously identified and studied.
Patterns indicating a broader information operation
@LoQSeDic, formerly @Mippcivzla, is the second X account reported in the past week whose handle and theme were changed, turning it into an amplifier of covert propaganda in favor of Nicolás Maduro’s government. The first was the troll account “Dracarys” (@UnleashDracarys), an account linked to instructors from Escuela Influye, a content creator training program created by the Mippci and run by staff from its Digital Media Directorate.
Although @LoQSeDic currently publishes and shares primarily pro-Maduro propaganda, it has also contributed to amplifying disinformation from covert propaganda troll accounts such as Dracarys and other “unofficial” propaganda outlets active on X.
Leveraging a large follower base to spread and amplify propaganda
The use of a new profile name appears intended to disseminate and amplify propaganda by piggybacking on Mippci’s follower base. However, this practice violates X’s Authenticity Policy, which states that accounts on the platform must be authentic. According to the policy, you may not “create, operate, or mass-register accounts that are not legitimate, genuine, and transparent about their origin, identity, and popularity.”
More specifically, in the “Fake Persons” subsection under “Inauthentic Accounts,” X’s Authenticity Policy specifies that account holders “may not use false identities to engage in disruptive or deceptive behavior. This can include the use of stock, stolen, or AI-generated profile photos; copied or stolen profile bios; and/or misleading profile information for the purpose of deceiving others.”
***Journalism in Venezuela is practiced in a hostile environment for the press, with dozens of legal instruments designed to punish speech — particularly the laws “against hatred,” “against fascism,” and “against the blockade.” This content was produced by journalists working inside Venezuela and is being published with careful consideration of the threats and restrictions that, as a result, have been imposed on the dissemination of information from within the country.
Cazadores de Fake News investiga a detalle cada caso, mediante la búsqueda y el hallazgo de evidencias forenses digitales en fuentes abiertas. En algunos casos, se usan datos no disponibles en fuentes abiertas con el objetivo de reorientar las investigaciones o recolectar más evidencias.
