GEORGETOWN, Guyana, (CMC) – Guyanese officials have met with senior Facebook representatives to discuss the removal of posts showing large sections of the country as Venezuelan territory.

Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud, and Head of Frontiers Unit Donette Street, attended the virtual meeting on Wednesday, according to a statement from the Guyanese government.

The meeting was convened after Persaud penned letters to Facebook’s chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg, and CEO of Twitter, Parag Agrawal, to have the false information and illegal maps removed from their respective platforms.

Persaud told the representatives that the government is concerned about the spread of disinformation since the border dispute between Guyana and Venezuela is currently before the International Court of Justice.

He is expected to have a follow-up discussion with the social media platforms on ongoing efforts to have Guyana’s concerns addressed.

Persaud had cause to write to the social media companies after several Spanish social media accounts shared an illegal map claiming the Essequibo region as Venezuela’s territory.

In his letters, Persaud said the social media operatives had been using Facebook and Twitter to propagate a false narrative regarding the controversy between Guyana and Venezuela about the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award which settled the land boundary between Guyana and Venezuela.