Virtually every story written about Venezuela these days—whether in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, or CNN—contains the same themes: The socialist government of President Nicolás Maduro is brutally repressing a grassroots movement for democracy and freedom. The views of those who support Maduro are ignored or downplayed. Here are a few examples of how mainstream media distort the news.
Who has popular support?
Reuters reported that hundreds of thousands of people attended opposition demonstrations. But the wire service underreported the turnouts when hundreds of thousands attended pro-government rallies on May Day and in opposition to Trump’s threat of military action on August 14.
Over the past two years, Maduro’s popularity has declined. But he still retains significant support among the urban poor, workers, and farmers. The opposition, on the other hand, draws most of its support from the business elite and middle class.
What do the polls say?
The mainstream media regularly cite polls conducted by the rightwing Datanalisis, showing Maduro with an 80 percent disapproval rating. Not mentioned are polls showing, for example, that 54 percent of Venezuelans support the elected National Constituent Assembly or that 75 percent of Venezuelans support a socialist mixed economy.Polls in Venezuela have varying levels of reliability, but why cite only the anti-government data?
Who ya gonna trust?
The media give instant credibility to statements by opposition leaders and academic experts but treat government viewpoints as suspect and self-serving.
On April 20, several hundred opposition demonstrators took over a street and set a large garbage container on fire in front of the maternity and children’s hospital in the El Valle barrio of Caracas. Fearing a violent attack and worried about the toxic fumes, hospital staff evacuated fifty-four women and children. National Guard troops arrived later and fired tear gas to disperse the rioters.
But the Chicago Tribune reported that the hospital attack occurred during “the confusion” of clashes between protesters and government forces. It quoted one government source who accused the opposition of attacking the hospital, but then quickly quoted opposition leader Henrique Capriles calling the government claim “irresponsible declarations.” The article leaves the impression that government-fired tear gas caused the evacuation.
Almost none of the major media bothered to actually visit the hospital. I did. I interviewed five witnesses, the head nurse, and hospital director. The evacuation, they said, began before tear gas was fired. But the opposition explanation has become the accepted version of events.
Who’s causing the violence?.
Without doubt, Venezuela has seen horrific violence. Security forces regularly fire tear gas and rubber bullets. Some demonstrators have died as a result. Pro-government collectivos have engaged in assaults and murders in opposition neighborhoods, as I have reported.
But from the very beginning, anti-government protesters threw rocks and firebombs at police and attacked government supporters. On April 8, during the first week of protests, a mob burned the administrative offices of the Supreme Court.
In June, opposition police officers seized a helicopter, dropped grenades on the Supreme Court building, and fired at the Interior Ministry. But The New York Times treated this act of armed insurrection almost as a joke, running the headline, “After Helicopter Attack, Venezuelans Ask, What Was That About?” The Times called the assault “hapless” and quoted a U.S. analyst calling it “bizarre.”
Imagine for a moment that the leftwing opposition in a Latin American country had blockaded major cities for months, threw firebombs at police, burned government buildings, and launched helicopter attacks. This opposition called for the overthrow of an elected, pro-U.S. government. The media coverage, I suspect, would be far different.
See Feature story: What's Really Going Down in Venezuela