SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
For years, Venezuela has been a difficult place for journalists to operate. Broadcasters in the South American nation are heavily censored by the National Telecommunication Commission, and independent news sites are often blocked by the government. Following the nation's disputed election in July, things have become even tougher for the local press, with several reporters and photographers arrested and charged with terrorism. So to protect themselves, some journalists have turned to an unlikely ally, artificial intelligence. Manuel Rueda has the story.
MANUEL RUEDA, BYLINE: These are the new voices of Venezuelan news.
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AI-GENERATED VOICE #1: (As La Chama, speaking Spanish).
AI-GENERATED VOICE #2: (As El Pana, speaking Spanish).
AI-GENERATED VOICE #1: (As La Chama, speaking Spanish).
RUEDA: El Pana, or the friend, and La Chama, or the girl, look like your average news presenters. But they're avatars that were created with an AI program.
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AI-GENERATED VOICE #2: (As El Pana, speaking Spanish).
RUEDA: For the past three weeks, this digital couple has been presenting a four-minute-long newscast scripted by real journalists. The show is called "Operacion Retuit," and it's posted on the social media accounts of about 20 independent news sites in Venezuela.
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AI-GENERATED VOICE #2: (As El Pana, speaking Spanish).
RUEDA: The videos were initially posted in Spanish, but now there's also an English version.
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AI-GENERATED VOICE #2: (As El Pana) We were created by AI, but what we share is very real, verified and high-quality content created by journalists. Welcome to "Operacion Retuit."
RUEDA: Carlos Huertas works with Connectas, an organization based in Colombia that's helping to put this show together.
CARLOS HUERTAS: (Speaking Spanish).
RUEDA: "This isn't about being trendy," he says. "We're using AI so that we can get around censorship in Venezuela and also to protect journalists."
After Venezuela's election on July 28, the authoritarian government of Nicolas Maduro has cracked down on activists and human rights leaders who have questioned the official results. More than 1,600 people have been imprisoned, including opposition activists who have published tally sheets that indicate Maduro lost the election. Some of them have been taken from their homes in the middle of the night.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Non-English language spoken).
RUEDA: Journalists who have reported on these events have also been targeted, with 11 media workers that include reporters, photographers and videographers arrested over the past month. So now many journalists prefer to publish their stories without bylines and refrain from showing their faces on camera.
LUZ MELY REYES: They have to avoid to be identified by police or by the security forces.
RUEDA: Luz Mely Reyes is a director of Efecto Cocuyo, an independent news site whose name translates to the firefly effect. She says that threats to journalists don't only come from the police.
REYES: Venezuela - there are some civilian people that they have guns, and they support the government. They can attack a journalist.
RUEDA: But getting arrested or harassed in the street is not the only problem journalists face in Venezuela. The other challenge is how to ensure readers access their content. Reyes says her website has been blocked since 2021. Most of the time, it's only accessible in Venezuela to people using VPN services.
REYES: We are living in an authoritarian country in which the government have taken the decision to avoid the free flow of information.
RUEDA: According to Venezuela Sin Filtro, a group that tracks online censorship, there are more than 60 sites belonging to news organizations and human rights groups that are blocked in Venezuela. Sin Filtro recently launched an app with a built-in VPN. It displays content from a dozen independent news sites.
ANDRES AZPURUA: Since internet censorship is so prevalent, the traffic to the actual news websites have gone down significantly.
RUEDA: Andres Azpurua is one of the leaders of this project.
AZPURUA: So we're trying to not only get people the news but do it in a way that continues to support the media landscape in the country.
RUEDA: Radio and television are heavily censored in Venezuela. And many newspapers have been taken over by businessmen who support the government. Azpurua says that has turned the internet into a crucial source of information.
AZPURUA: So everything happens online, and in response to that, that's why the Venezuelan mediascape is so censored online.
RUEDA: Reyes has responded to the blocking of her website by distributing a newsletter via WhatsApp. She's also set up an interview series on YouTube that has gained more than 30,000 followers over the past year.
REYES: It's like a discovery for us because we are not expert doing streaming.
RUEDA: The lesson here is that people are hungry for real news content, Reyes says, even if it's delivered by avatars. For NPR News, I'm Manuel Rueda in Bogota.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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