# Sustained censorship in VE (2026-02)

**Country:** 🇻🇪 Venezuela (VE)
**Date:** 2026-02-08
**Type:** Censorship
**Severity:** CRITICAL
**Status:** confirmed

## Summary

OONI detected 40 days of elevated network interference averaging 62.9% anomaly rate.

## Metrics

- Confidence: 77%
- Measurements: 40
- Anomaly Rate: 62.9%

## Evidence

- **OONI** (measurement): OONI signal: 12/13 measurements anomalous (92.3%)
  - Observed: 2026-02-28
  - Confidence: 87%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=VE&test_name=signal&since=2026-02-28&until=2026-02-28&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI whatsapp: 8/13 measurements anomalous (61.5%)
  - Observed: 2026-02-28
  - Confidence: 75%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=VE&test_name=whatsapp&since=2026-02-28&until=2026-02-28&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI facebook_messenger: 8/15 measurements anomalous (53.3%)
  - Observed: 2026-02-28
  - Confidence: 71%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=VE&test_name=facebook_messenger&since=2026-02-28&until=2026-02-28&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI signal: 18/27 measurements anomalous (66.7%)
  - Observed: 2026-02-28
  - Confidence: 77%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=VE&test_name=signal&since=2026-02-28&until=2026-02-28&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI signal: 13/24 measurements anomalous (54.2%)
  - Observed: 2026-02-28
  - Confidence: 72%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=VE&test_name=signal&since=2026-02-28&until=2026-02-28&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI facebook_messenger: 15/25 measurements anomalous (60.0%)
  - Observed: 2026-02-28
  - Confidence: 74%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=VE&test_name=facebook_messenger&since=2026-02-28&until=2026-02-28&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI signal: 16/27 measurements anomalous (59.3%)
  - Observed: 2026-02-28
  - Confidence: 74%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=VE&test_name=signal&since=2026-02-28&until=2026-02-28&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI signal: 15/19 measurements anomalous (78.9%)
  - Observed: 2026-02-27
  - Confidence: 82%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=VE&test_name=signal&since=2026-02-27&until=2026-02-27&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI whatsapp: 9/18 measurements anomalous (50.0%)
  - Observed: 2026-02-27
  - Confidence: 70%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=VE&test_name=whatsapp&since=2026-02-27&until=2026-02-27&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI signal: 20/27 measurements anomalous (74.1%)
  - Observed: 2026-02-27
  - Confidence: 80%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=VE&test_name=signal&since=2026-02-27&until=2026-02-27&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI signal: 21/38 measurements anomalous (55.3%)
  - Observed: 2026-02-27
  - Confidence: 72%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=VE&test_name=signal&since=2026-02-27&until=2026-02-27&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI signal: 19/30 measurements anomalous (63.3%)
  - Observed: 2026-02-27
  - Confidence: 75%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=VE&test_name=signal&since=2026-02-27&until=2026-02-27&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI signal: 18/23 measurements anomalous (78.3%)
  - Observed: 2026-02-26
  - Confidence: 81%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=VE&test_name=signal&since=2026-02-26&until=2026-02-26&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI signal: 18/25 measurements anomalous (72.0%)
  - Observed: 2026-02-26
  - Confidence: 79%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=VE&test_name=signal&since=2026-02-26&until=2026-02-26&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI signal: 21/32 measurements anomalous (65.6%)
  - Observed: 2026-02-26
  - Confidence: 76%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=VE&test_name=signal&since=2026-02-26&until=2026-02-26&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI signal: 15/26 measurements anomalous (57.7%)
  - Observed: 2026-02-26
  - Confidence: 73%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=VE&test_name=signal&since=2026-02-26&until=2026-02-26&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI signal: 13/25 measurements anomalous (52.0%)
  - Observed: 2026-02-25
  - Confidence: 71%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=VE&test_name=signal&since=2026-02-25&until=2026-02-25&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI signal: 16/24 measurements anomalous (66.7%)
  - Observed: 2026-02-25
  - Confidence: 77%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=VE&test_name=signal&since=2026-02-25&until=2026-02-25&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI signal: 21/40 measurements anomalous (52.5%)
  - Observed: 2026-02-25
  - Confidence: 71%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=VE&test_name=signal&since=2026-02-25&until=2026-02-25&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI signal: 16/31 measurements anomalous (51.6%)
  - Observed: 2026-02-25
  - Confidence: 71%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=VE&test_name=signal&since=2026-02-25&until=2026-02-25&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI signal: 14/25 measurements anomalous (56.0%)
  - Observed: 2026-02-24
  - Confidence: 72%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=VE&test_name=signal&since=2026-02-24&until=2026-02-24&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI signal: 21/35 measurements anomalous (60.0%)
  - Observed: 2026-02-23
  - Confidence: 74%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=VE&test_name=signal&since=2026-02-23&until=2026-02-23&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI signal: 15/28 measurements anomalous (53.6%)
  - Observed: 2026-02-23
  - Confidence: 71%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=VE&test_name=signal&since=2026-02-23&until=2026-02-23&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI signal: 14/19 measurements anomalous (73.7%)
  - Observed: 2026-02-22
  - Confidence: 79%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=VE&test_name=signal&since=2026-02-22&until=2026-02-22&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI signal: 27/32 measurements anomalous (84.4%)
  - Observed: 2026-02-22
  - Confidence: 84%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=VE&test_name=signal&since=2026-02-22&until=2026-02-22&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI signal: 27/36 measurements anomalous (75.0%)
  - Observed: 2026-02-22
  - Confidence: 80%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=VE&test_name=signal&since=2026-02-22&until=2026-02-22&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI signal: 21/28 measurements anomalous (75.0%)
  - Observed: 2026-02-22
  - Confidence: 80%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=VE&test_name=signal&since=2026-02-22&until=2026-02-22&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI signal: 19/33 measurements anomalous (57.6%)
  - Observed: 2026-02-21
  - Confidence: 73%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=VE&test_name=signal&since=2026-02-21&until=2026-02-21&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI signal: 14/26 measurements anomalous (53.8%)
  - Observed: 2026-02-21
  - Confidence: 72%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=VE&test_name=signal&since=2026-02-21&until=2026-02-21&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI signal: 21/37 measurements anomalous (56.8%)
  - Observed: 2026-02-20
  - Confidence: 73%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=VE&test_name=signal&since=2026-02-20&until=2026-02-20&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI signal: 18/31 measurements anomalous (58.1%)
  - Observed: 2026-02-19
  - Confidence: 73%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=VE&test_name=signal&since=2026-02-19&until=2026-02-19&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI signal: 19/24 measurements anomalous (79.2%)
  - Observed: 2026-02-19
  - Confidence: 82%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=VE&test_name=signal&since=2026-02-19&until=2026-02-19&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI whatsapp: 13/25 measurements anomalous (52.0%)
  - Observed: 2026-02-19
  - Confidence: 71%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=VE&test_name=whatsapp&since=2026-02-19&until=2026-02-19&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI facebook_messenger: 15/25 measurements anomalous (60.0%)
  - Observed: 2026-02-19
  - Confidence: 74%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=VE&test_name=facebook_messenger&since=2026-02-19&until=2026-02-19&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI signal: 19/25 measurements anomalous (76.0%)
  - Observed: 2026-02-18
  - Confidence: 80%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=VE&test_name=signal&since=2026-02-18&until=2026-02-18&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI signal: 22/36 measurements anomalous (61.1%)
  - Observed: 2026-02-18
  - Confidence: 74%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=VE&test_name=signal&since=2026-02-18&until=2026-02-18&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI signal: 2/4 measurements anomalous (50.0%)
  - Observed: 2026-02-09
  - Confidence: 70%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=VE&test_name=signal&since=2026-02-09&until=2026-02-09&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI facebook_messenger: 2/4 measurements anomalous (50.0%)
  - Observed: 2026-02-09
  - Confidence: 70%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=VE&test_name=facebook_messenger&since=2026-02-09&until=2026-02-09&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI signal: 2/3 measurements anomalous (66.7%)
  - Observed: 2026-02-08
  - Confidence: 77%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=VE&test_name=signal&since=2026-02-08&until=2026-02-08&only=anomalies)
- **OONI** (measurement): OONI facebook_messenger: 2/4 measurements anomalous (50.0%)
  - Observed: 2026-02-08
  - Confidence: 70%
  - [OONI Explorer (independently verifiable)](https://explorer.ooni.org/search?probe_cc=VE&test_name=facebook_messenger&since=2026-02-08&until=2026-02-08&only=anomalies)

## What we cannot say

- **Who caused it** — measurement data alone does not attribute the interference to any government, ISP, or other actor.
- **Intent** — anomalous or unreachable measurements indicate interference, not a stated motive or a deliberate-vs-incidental determination.
- **Which networks** — no specific ASN/ISP is identified for this incident.
- **The mechanism** — we cannot state whether this was DNS tampering, TLS/SNI reset, HTTP blockpage, throttling, or an infrastructure outage.
- **Sub-national scope** — measurement is aggregated at the country level; we cannot localize to a province, city, or network segment.
- **Independent corroboration** — this rests on a single source; treat it as a single-source signal, not a multi-source confirmation.

## Data Sources

ooni

## Citation

Voidly Research. (2026). Sustained censorship in VE (2026-02) [VE-2026-0409]. Retrieved from https://voidly.ai/incident/VE-2026-0409

---
*Report generated by Voidly Research on 2026-06-21*
*Data licensed under CC BY 4.0*
*Incident ID: VE-2026-0409*
*Permalink: https://voidly.ai/incident/VE-2026-0409*