Cuban Social Network, Allegedly Funded By US

A Cuban version of Twitter was set up by the US government in an attempt to push the communist island's young people towards dissent, it has been claimed.

The social media network - which lasted more than two years and picked up tens of thousands of subscribers - was built using secret shell companies, the Associated Press news agency reported.
Covert schemes such as this one would require authorisation from the President and congressional notification.
The project was dubbed ZunZuneo which is a slang term for a Cuban hummingbird's tweet.

Front companies in the Cayman Islands were used, it is alleged

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) set up front companies in Spain and the Cayman Islands to hide the source of the project’s financing, it is alleged.
It also recruited CEOs without telling them the project was US taxpayer-funded.
A memo from Mobile Accord, one of the project’s creators, reportedly said: "There will be absolutely no mention of United States government involvement.
"This is absolutely crucial for the long-term success of the service and to ensure the success of the Mission."
It was publicly launched in 2009.

The site was similar to Twitter

For more than two years, ZunZuneo grew and reached at least 40,000 subscribers.
The service vanished abruptly in 2012.
In a statement, USAID said it is "proud of its work in Cuba to provide basic humanitarian assistance, promote human rights and fundamental freedoms, and to help information flow more freely to the Cuban people."
It added Cubans "have lived under an authoritarian regime" for 50 years, and said its work was "consistent" with US law.