ZunZuneo
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US denies that 'Cuban Twitter' was developed to create political unrest
Last week, we brought you the story of ZunZuneo, an oddly-named startup that sought to launch a social network like Twitter in Cuba. The twist in the tale, is that it was built and funded by the United States Agency of International Development, allegedly as a way to slowly turn the island's youth away from rum and cigars and toward a local version of the Arab Spring. Naturally, the agency denies this, posting a rebuttal online that says the project was designed to circumvent the "information blockade" to connect people who have been cut off from the outside world. At a hearing on Capitol Hill, USAID head Rajiv Shah publicly denied the allegations, saying that "working to improve platforms of communication is a core part of what USAID works to do." We're sure that this story is going to run and run, at least until it forms the plot of the next Jason Bourne movie.
The US started a social network in Cuba to foster dissent
At first glance, ZunZuneo had all the markings of your average Silicon Valley startup: a silly name, a focus on messaging and plans to make a splash abroad. That wasn't exactly the case though, as the Associated Press reports. No, ZunZuneo was a social messaging service (think of it as Twitter over SMS) cooked up by the US Agency for International Development to help foment political unrest in Cuba. The plan? To hook users on a steady stream "non-controversial" updates on banal topics, before subtly injecting political messages into the mix in hopes of sparking a movement.
