2017: The Washington Post’s One-Sided Opinion on Venezuela

2017 was a tumultuous year in Venezuela:

·       For 120 days, anti-government rioters barricaded streets, attacked government buildings and confronted the National Guard

·       Large pro- and anti-government demonstrations were held

·       The U.S. imposed unilateral financial sanctions

·       Three National elections were held for a Constituent Assembly, Governors and Mayors    

The Washington Post is widely considered a U.S. newspaper of record, along with the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. The “newspaper of record” designation is an unofficial one, acknowledging a publication’s historical significance, rigorous reporting and influence on the national conversation.

In 2017, The Washington Post published 15 Opinion columns and editorials regarding events in Venezuela. These columns and editorials were analyzed for fairness and accuracy by the NGO media watchdog organization FAIR which released a Report in December 2017: [1]

“The only voices allowed in the Washington Post on the subject of Venezuela over the past year have been those calling for the overthrow or sanction of its government. A review of 15 opinion pieces featured in the Post shows voices even remotely sympathetic to the government of President Nicolas Maduro are omitted entirely.”

“Columns and editorials in the Post are uniformly pro-regime change, pro-intervention, pro-sanctions or outright pro-coup. The paper presents only one side of that nation’s crisis-one in which a sizable percentage of the people, disproportionately the poor and indigenous, remain supportive of Maduro. Dozens of other controversial governments receive ‘both sides’ coverage in the Post’s opinion pages. It’s simply taken for granted that Maduro is a cartoon dictator; the only question dissected is how best to kick him out.”

 

1.    Johnson, Adam, WaPo’s One-Sided Cheerleading for Coup and Intervention in Venezuela, FAIR, December 4, 2017

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