--- description: The government's international development agency has rebutted claims that the U.S. aimed for the social network ZunZuneo, which failed to nab a massive user base, to spark a revolution in Cuba as administrator Rajiv Shah prepares to be grilled by lawmakers title: USAID Denies Cuban Twitter Was Intended To Subvert image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt18acbd37783dd87e/69868973e8524b7b8d6023f7/rajiv-shah-usaid-senate-testimony.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Cuba](/tag/cuba/) ## Cuba Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # USAID Denies 'Cuban Twitter' Was Meant To Subvert ## Video: What You Need To Know About Cuba's Twitter [Watch (HLS stream): What You Need To Know About Cuba's Twitter](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Q88q2hmu.m3u8) (2:03)  _Published 2014-04-03. Tens of thousands of Cubans all tapped into the same social network, never realizing until now their version basically of Twitter was being run by the U.S. government. Here are five things you need to know about ZunZuneo._ by [Laura Stampler](/author/laura-stampler/) and [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) Apr 8, 2014 2:23 PM CUT  Rajiv Shah, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development testifies before a subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee April 8, 2014 in Washington, DC. Rajiv Shah, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development testifies before a subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee April 8, 2014 in Washington, DC.Win McNamee—Getty Images by [Laura Stampler](/author/laura-stampler/) and [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) Apr 8, 2014 2:23 PM CUT The administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development pushed back against reports it created a “Cuban Twitter” to foment revolution in the Communist country at a hearing on Capitol Hill Tuesday. Senator Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs, which controls USAID spending, told USAID administrator Rajiv Shah that launching the social network in Cuba had been a “cockamamie idea.” A recent [report](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/us-secretly-created-cuban-twitter-stir-unrest "undefined") by the Associated Press described ZunZuneo, which is slang in Cuba for a hummingbird’s tweet, as a social network designed to “renegotiate the balance of power between the state and society” and incite a “Cuban spring.” Leahy said the work USAID did in Cuba knowingly put government contractor Alan Gross, who has been imprisoned on the island for four years, in direct danger. He voiced concerns that the project’s discovery will put other USAID workers around the globe at risk. But Shah, who took the helm in 2009, denied the program’s purpose extended beyond improving communication networks within the country. “Working to improve platforms of communication is a core part of what USAID works to do,” Shah said. “It’s inaccurate that \[the program\] goes beyond that.” The government agency had published a blog post ahead of Shah’s testimony, saying that the _AP’s_ story [“makes for an interesting read, but it’s not true.”](http://blog.usaid.gov/2014/04/eight-facts-about-zunzuneo/ "undefined") The article went on to rebut eight of the _AP’s_ claims, denying there was any attempt to trigger unrest and saying ZunZuneo was merely an attempt to overcome the “information blockade” in Cuba. Shah claimed he did not know whose idea it had been to set up the program. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/53501/usaid-cuban-twitter-rajiv-shah/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/53501/usaid-cuban-twitter-rajiv-shah/"},"headline":"USAID Denies 'Cuban Twitter' Was Meant To Subvert","datePublished":"2014-04-08T14:23:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-30T11:29:50.756Z","description":"The government's international development agency has rebutted claims that the U.S. aimed for the social network ZunZuneo, which failed to nab a massive user base, to spark a revolution in Cuba as administrator Rajiv Shah prepares to be grilled by lawmakers","url":"https://time.com/53501/usaid-cuban-twitter-rajiv-shah/","keywords":["Cuba","Law","Cuba topic","USAID"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt18acbd37783dd87e/69868973e8524b7b8d6023f7/rajiv-shah-usaid-senate-testimony.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Laura Stampler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt18acbd37783dd87e/69868973e8524b7b8d6023f7/rajiv-shah-usaid-senate-testimony.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"USAID Chief Rajiv Shah Testifies Before Senate Committee","caption":"Rajiv Shah, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development testifies before a subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee April 8, 2014 in Washington, DC.","creditText":"Win McNamee—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/cuba/","name":"Cuba"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/53501/usaid-cuban-twitter-rajiv-shah/","name":"USAID Denies 'Cuban Twitter' Was Meant To Subvert"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"What You Need To Know About Cuba's Twitter","description":"Tens of thousands of Cubans all tapped into the same social network, never realizing until now their version basically of Twitter was being run by the U.S. government. 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