iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Laura Vidal @elevidalbe.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

La lupa digital está compartiendo historias de 'tecnología para la esperanza'. El escenario es #México 🇲🇽 Son historias complejas, difíciles, pero que muestran que la tecnología es algo que creamos juntxs y no algo que imaginaron un grupo de gente en una oficina en California.

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Laura Vidal @elevidalbe.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

This Friday: A Discussion with Venezuelans and Iranians in the diaspora about how to be in solidarity in this moment of crisis & change Learning Resistance through Global Solidarity We’re not Fighting Alone. www.eventbrite.com/e/understand...

eventbrite.com

Understanding What It Means to Be in Solidarity with Iranians & Venezuelans

A Discussion with Venezuelans and Iranians in the diaspora about how to be in solidarity in this moment of crisis & change

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Laura Vidal @elevidalbe.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

[🇻🇪 Rafael Uzcátegui. Human Rights defender] "The #Venezuelan case offers a particularly clear lens to examine what might be called “minor colonialism”: how distant, well-meaning discourse can shape global understanding of a crisis more than the voices of those who have to live through it."

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Laura Vidal @elevidalbe.bsky.social · 10/01/2026

[🇻🇪 Luis Carlos Díaz, Journalist and Human Rights Defender] "One often-missed complexity of political prisoners in Venezuela is this: they are not prisoners of “the government” as a single entity. They are prisoners of the different factions that divide power."

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Laura Vidal @elevidalbe.bsky.social · 10/01/2026

[🇻🇪 CEPAZ HDR organization] "Venezuela’s current crisis demands an honest reflection on the role the international community has played—and continues to play—in shaping its trajectory. The opportunity to act responsibly is still present, but time is short."

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Laura Vidal @elevidalbe.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

[🇻🇪 Rafael Uzcátegui HRD] "Several well-intentioned statements claim that “the U.S. has imposed a government on Venezuela.” While understandable, this framing actually obscures the complexity of the current moment—and risks portraying real existing chavismo as a victim."

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Laura Vidal @elevidalbe.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

[This one's just mine, gathering from readings, research work and the overall experience of being VZ abroad] Watching people we admire (writers, journalists, colleagues who taught us to see nuance) walk away has been one of the hardest parts of this.

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Laura Vidal @elevidalbe.bsky.social · 07/01/2026

[🇻🇪 Naky Soto, HR defender and political analyst] "As days pass, it’s clearer that Trump exploited the institutional devastation engineered by chavismo, turning regime insiders into the executors of Maduro’s removal, freezing the Armed Forces, and reassigning power, backed by the threat of force."

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Laura Vidal @elevidalbe.bsky.social · 07/01/2026

[Note] Regarding my curation: I'm not translating takes here just because I find them interesting. The people I'm quoting are journalists, HR defenders, researchers and respected analysis that have presented data, and well-defended sources, often obtained and reported at high risk. [/Note]

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Laura Vidal @elevidalbe.bsky.social · 07/01/2026

[🇨🇴 María Emilia Gouffray - Historian and Political Scientist ] "What has happened to women under Venezuela’s authoritarian regime is central to understanding the crisis. One of its defining features has been the deep feminization of poverty."

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Laura Vidal @elevidalbe.bsky.social · 07/01/2026

[ 🇻🇪 Luis Carlos Días, journalist and HRD] "The last few days in Venezuela have been dense and tense. Under Delcy Rodríguez’s interim government, at least 14 journalists were detained, interrogated for hours, and released overnight. Street arrests continue to occur."

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Laura Vidal @elevidalbe.bsky.social · 07/01/2026

[🇻🇪 Mercedes de Freitas, director of Transparency Venezuela at the UN] "In Venezuela, domestic and international criminal networks operate in a symbiotic relationship with the Maduro administration, using state structures to facilitate, protect, and direct illicit operations."

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Laura Vidal @elevidalbe.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

[🇻🇪 Luis Carlos Díaz, journalist and human rights defender. This comes from a 25 min vid, so it won't be detailed] "Power in Venezuela was never held by Nicolás Maduro alone. It functioned as a coalition that distributed control over businesses, courts, prosecutors, and repressive institutions."

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Laura Vidal @elevidalbe.bsky.social · 07/01/2026

[🇻🇪 Anaís Castro, journalist, based in Argentina] “My colleagues were tortured under Nicolás Maduro’s government. (…) I went out into the streets in panic with my brother, just to make sure they wouldn’t kill him.”

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Laura Vidal @elevidalbe.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

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Laura Vidal @elevidalbe.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

[🇨🇴 Karol Solís Menco, PhD in Political Science] "After decades of dictatorship and fear, no one can deny Venezuelans the right to hope. Understanding their joy at the fall of a tyrant is not incompatible with questioning what comes next." 🧵👇

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Laura Vidal @elevidalbe.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

Since there are many interesting and useful nuances shared by human rights activists, journalists and researchers that are not covered beyond LatAm I thought of sharing some of those here (a bit summarized and contextualized if needed). I'll be putting the source at the bottom of the thread.

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Laura Vidal @elevidalbe.bsky.social · 03/01/2026

I’m exhausted by seeing #Venezuelan pain instrumentalized or minimized in the name of ideological consistency. If we’re going to be outraged—and we should be—then let’s also be outraged by the disaster these people have inflicted, year after year, on millions of lives.

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Laura Vidal @elevidalbe.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

What is happening in #Venezuela is not a single mechanism of repression but a web of chaos and control where digital tools enable both targeted repression and mass surveillance. Yet, women activists lead and participate in creative ways to resist #16days genderit.org/feminist-tal...

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Laura Vidal @elevidalbe.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

🙌 The Curious Shapes collective will host my dear @mariannedh.bsky.social with Tawanda Mugari to talk hope, resistance and the absurdity of authoritarianism. You can expect a lot of community care and humor ♥️ 📅 👩🏻‍💻Online - Dec 4th. Learn more and register here: www.eventbrite.com/e/learning-r...

eventbrite.com

Learning Resistance through Global Solidarity

A Discussion on how activists in Zimbabwe and Venezuela use humor to survive & keep fighting absurdity +the importance of digital security!

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Laura Vidal @elevidalbe.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

I’ve come across another call for submissions of fiction + tech and it is once again sci-fi inclined. I’d love to see one that’s open to talk about the here and now as well as the recent past. There’s a lot of stories to tell in the world we already know.

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Laura Vidal @elevidalbe.bsky.social · 16/10/2025

"Resistir y decidir" es un archivo de estrategias de protección digital dirigidas a proteger derechos sexuales y reproductivos. Hay planes, manuales y estrategias y cubren comprensión, prevención y respuesta a eventuales ataques. resistir.digitaldefenders.org #Ciberseguridad #Derechos

resistir.digitaldefenders.org

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Laura Vidal @elevidalbe.bsky.social · 13/10/2025

"What happens when systems designed to control and monitor an entire country’s internet are offered to the highest bidder?" Comments and analysis reading between the lines of the latest IntersecLab report: interseclab.org/can-mass-sur...

interseclab.org

Can mass surveillance be a consumer product? | InterSecLab

Surveillance company leaks expose mass surveillance, state control, and private sector involvement. What does this mean for global privacy?

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Laura Vidal @elevidalbe.bsky.social · 10/10/2025

With the announcement of the Nobel Peace Prize to María Corina Machado, we're diving once again into endless debates about her political position - with media calling her "far-right" or "radical right."

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Laura Vidal @elevidalbe.bsky.social · 13/06/2025

I had one of those difficult conversations on Venezuela with my dear @ayoub.bsky.social in @thefirethesetimes.com. I deeply appreciated having a welcoming space for such a complicated conversation and being able to keep calling attention to what is going on. thefirethesetimes.com/2025/06/10/a...

thefirethesetimes.com

A Liquid Convo About Venezuela w/ Laura Vidal

We got into why Venezuelans flee the Maduro regime, how Venezuela(ns) is often covered, and the broader discourse battles that may or may not include people who still think Maduro is a passionate d…

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Edwy Plenel @edwyplenel.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

De la Flottille de la liberté à la Marche mondiale vers Gaza, ce sont les sociétés, et au premier chef leurs jeunesses, qui sauvent les principes bafoués par les États face au martyre du peuple de Palestine. Sur @mediapart.fr le 2 juin dernier ⤵️

Capture d’écran d’un extrait de mon parti pris du 2 juin dernier sur Mediapart : « Palestine, une cause universelle »

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IFEX @ifex.org · 09/06/2025

#Venezuela 🇻🇪 IFEX joins human rights organisations and regional bodies in urgently calling for the immediate release of Eduardo Torres — a lawyer, unionist and member of PROVEA who is currently detained, isolated, and incommunicado, despite being under IACHR protection measures. buff.ly/q4ucBJ7

ifex.org

Open letter calls on the Government of Venezuela to immediately release human rights defender Eduardo Torres - IFEX

IFEX joins other ivil society organisations in urging the authorities to allow Eduardo Torres regular communication with family members and trusted lawyers, and grant his full and immediate release.

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Committee to Protect Journalists @pressfreedom.bsky.social · 29/05/2025

An independent media is vital for democracy. Access to information enables all people to make decisions and hold the powerful to account. A world without journalism is a world without truth. cpj.org/donate #JournalismMatters

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elia ayoub @ayoub.bsky.social · 28/05/2025

The genocide in Gaza is only profitable to the Israelis if other governments participate in it. That is a decision that these governments make, a decision to directly profit off the genocide of Palestinians. They can be pressured to stop.

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Laura Vidal @elevidalbe.bsky.social · 03/05/2025

On this #WPFD2025 I’m sharing a rare moment of hope I had when working with IFEX on this profile of Comprova — a powerful reminder that getting out of this mess we’re in won’t happen if we work alone. It takes networks. It takes trust. It takes collaboration. ifex.org/fighting-ai-...

ifex.org

Fighting AI-powered disinformation through collaboration - IFEX

IFEX spoke with the director of the Comprova project, Sérgio Lüdtke, to better understand how artificial intelligence is reshaping disinformation threats in Brazil – and how collaborative journalism m...

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EU DisinfoLab @disinfo.eu · 28/04/2025

🚨 REMINDER – Our webinar is coming up this Wednesday (yes, 𝙒𝙚𝙙𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙙𝙖𝙮 this week! 🗓️) Sam Jeffers @worklesshard.bsky.social from Who Targets Me @whotargets.me will walk us through how political ads are tracked in real-time – and what we can learn from them. Don’t miss out – register now! 👇

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Laura Vidal @elevidalbe.bsky.social · 19/04/2025

“...this all might be the beginning of a process that leads to genuine “liberation days” for other countries, but not the US itself. There is pain ahead, but also a sort of independence […] there might finally be a recognition that the US’s definition of peace and prosperity was always its own...”

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Laura Vidal @elevidalbe.bsky.social · 14/04/2025

I was interviewed recently about #activism and, as always, in trying not to say too much, I ended up saying too little. So here’s a thread with the ideas that didn’t make it into the conversation but are still on my mind.

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Laura Vidal @elevidalbe.bsky.social · 31/03/2025

In our latest #FreedomOfExpression round-up from the #Americas @ifex.org 🌎 we highlight how civil society is increasingly targeted across the region, while women continue to lead resistance efforts in the face of censorship, persecution, and authoritarianism. ifex.org/across-the-a...

ifex.org

Across the Americas, civil society is targeted – and women continue to push back - IFEX

Americas: A free expression and civic space round-up produced by IFEX's Regional Editor Laura Vidal, based on IFEX member reports and news from the region.

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Jean-Paul Marthoz @jpmarthoz.bsky.social · 31/03/2025

Une grève de deux jours a démarré, lundi 31 mars, dans l’audiovisuel public, Radio France et France Télévisions en tête, pour protester contre le projet gouvernemental de holding commune, avant le début de son examen à l’Assemblée nationale. www.lemonde.fr/economie-fra...

lemonde.fr

Radio France et France Télévisions en grève pendant deux jours contre la réforme de l’audiovisuel public

France Culture et des stations locales diffusent de la musique en lieu et place des programmes pour dénoncer le projet gouvernemental de holding commune.

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Leila Nachawati @leilana.bsky.social · 11/03/2025

Toda la gente siria que conozco estalla de alegría y alivio ante cada pequeña buena noticia que llega. Ante cada muestra de unión, cada acuerdo, cada gesto de reconciliación. Hartos de muerte y de humillaciones. Un pueblo que quiere VIVIR. #Siria

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Arzu Geybulla @arzugeybulla.bsky.social · 12/03/2025

Last week Georgia marked 100 days of protests - but the country and its people have been on the streets for much longer in the last four years. Here is an overview for @globalvoices.org and thanks to excellent reporting by @ocmedia.bsky.social globalvoices.org/2025/03/12/g...

globalvoices.org

Georgia marks 100 days of protests

Despite on-going protests, the ruling party has not budged resorting to sweeping legal changes and arrests instead.

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Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 06/03/2025

“In Finland, the number of homeless people has fallen sharply. Those affected receive a small apartment & counselling with no preconditions. 4 out of 5 people affected make their way back into a stable life. And all this is CHEAPER than accepting homelessness.”

thebetter.news

Finland ends homelessness and provides shelter for all in need - scoop.me

In Finland, the number of homeless people has fallen sharply. Why? The country applies the "Housing First" concept agains homelessness.

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R3D: Red en Defensa de los Derechos Digitales @r3d.mx · 11/02/2025

¡Estamos EN VIVO 🔴! Únete a la conversación y ve la presentación de nuestro informe “El Estado de la vigilancia”, un trabajo de documentación sobre los abusos de la tecnología de vigilancia en México: www.youtube.com/live/nvIeIKC...

youtube.com

Presentación del informe: "El Estado de la vigilancia"

YouTube video by R3D: Red en Defensa de los Derechos Digitales

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PEN Canada @pencanada.bsky.social · 04/02/2025

Hello 👋 💙 PEN Canada is on Bluesky! We fight censorship, campaign for the freedom of imperiled and imprisoned writers and journalists, and help writers who live in exile because of their written work. As part of an international network of writers, find more PEN centres here ⤵️ go.bsky.app/MhL7yQC

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ARTICLE 19 México y Centroamérica @article19mxca.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

📢 ¡Ya estamos en Bluesky! Síguenos y defiende con nosotrxs la libertad de expresión y el derecho a la información en México y Centroamérica. ✊ 🇲🇽🇬🇹🇭🇳🇨🇺🇸🇻🇳🇮

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Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg @theradr.bsky.social · 15/02/2025

There is always something you can do to gum up the works of fascism. A story. Claude Cahun. The queer nonbinary French-Jewish photographer. Nazis conquered France, were training soldiers on Jersey, where Cahun lived w/their partner, Marcel Moore. They did disinfo & morale smashing via Surrealism.

Claude Cahun with hearts on their face and I AM IN TRAINING DON'T KISS ME shirt

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Laura Vidal @elevidalbe.bsky.social · 14/02/2025

Authoritarian regimes have long understood the power of cross-border collaboration—they coordinate strategies and extend repression beyond borders. We should be taking note. Diasporic communities are not just in exile—they are key actors in a smarter, more connected human rights defense strategy.

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