In Ecuador there is one voice that says it all, the voice of President Rafael "Mashi" Correa. His “Communication Law” monitors and clamps the opinion of journalists who oppose the government. Today President Correa controls the largest media group in the country. From one National media in 2008, to owning 22 in 2016. The New York Times calls his attacks against the press "An Assault on Democracy".
Three top journalists, forced out of their jobs because of President Correa’s “Communication Law,” got together in 2016 to open the online journal “4pelagatos,” after the same words Correa used to insult them. With 4pelagatos they wanted to give Ecuadorians the opportunity to express their public opinions.
Images from the weekly oficial broadcast from Rafael Correa
Using President Correa’s official public broadcast videos we created MashiMachine, a website application that lets people express their opinions using the only voice that is permitted. Within 72 hours of its launch more than 110K videos created by the people with more than 1M page views, making it one of the most visited sites in Ecuador.
MashiMachine interface.
Following the launch of MashiMachine, Rafael Correa did not host any public tv broadcast. The government filed demands against the MashiMachine, its Twitter users, and five other journals. 4pelagatos and the defendants are all joining forces to ask services like Google, Amazon and Twitter to consider President Correa’s demands as an attack against freedom of speech.
With over 156M Social Media Impressions MachiMachine became the largest organic viral campaign in the history of Ecuador. And with 4M USD in earned media, the world started to take notice. The MashiMachine became a platform of free expression where Ecuadorians regained a public voice.
Accolades
- Winner, 4pelagatos.com, MashiMachine. — Facebook Awards, 2017
- Silver, Promo And Activation for 4pelagatos.com, MashiMachine. — Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, 2016
- Short List, Direct Marketing for 4pelagatos.com, MashiMachine. — Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, 2016
- Short List, Media for 4pelagatos.com, MashiMachine. — Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, 2016
- Short List, Mobile for 4pelagatos.com, MashiMachine. — Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, 2016
- Short List, Entertainment for 4pelagatos.com, MashiMachine. — Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, 2016
Selected Press
- In a country where dissent is silenced, activists use the president’s own voice to mock him. — qz.com
- Alternative media: Ecuador. — aljazeera.com
- This app allows people to put words in their president’s mouth, and the results are hilarious — fusion.com
- How Journalists Are Fighting Censorship in Ecuador — adweek.com
- Leo Burnett Mexico Gives Free Speech to Ecuadorians with 'MashiMachine'. — lbbonline.com