Slashdot Mirror


Amid Chaos Venezuelans Struggle To Find The Truth, Online (npr.org)

In Venezuela, where media is controlled by the government, figuring out what is truth, rumor or propaganda has always been difficult. NPR reports: In recent days it's gotten even more confusing. President Nicolas Maduro has refused to cede power to the opposition party. There have been widespread protests and looting -- and the rumor mill has been churning on social media. But many Venezuelans have found a way to use social media in their favor.

Javier Rojo owns a pharmacy in the capital city of Caracas. As the chaos started, he gave his workers the day off, went home and turned on the TV -- only to find nothing was being reported. "Independent media has been gradually attacked or shut down over time," says professor Gregory Weeks, who teaches Latin American politics at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. "So that in general social media becomes the means by which you learn what's going on, on an ongoing basis."

Back at his house, Rojo says he started getting messages on WhatsApp like this one from from one of his employees: "Tanks are rolling into the park. They are launching tear gas." But then, Rojo started receiving WhatsApp messages with rumors from people he doesn't even know. One man, who says his aunt's husband is a military officer, swore that Maduro has resigned. Professor Raisa Urribarri researches technology and politics at Universidad de Los Andes in Venezuela. She says it's hard to trace the origins of some messages in Venezuelan social media. They can be from panicked citizens, the opposition or the government.

4 of 260 comments (clear)

  1. Correction? by Maelwryth · · Score: 4, Interesting

    They can be from panicked citizens, the opposition or the government.

    That should probably read 'a government'.

    --
    I reserve the write to mangle english.
  2. Re:I feel for them by cayenne8 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The biggest "news" channel in the US is Fox "news."

    Fox News is a single cable channel that leans right.

    Is that a balance against the other major cable news channels of MSNBC and CNN which lean heavy left and left?

    Does that also balance out the 3 major OTA commercial news channels (which are also shown on cable) of NBC , CBS and ABC? Those also lean left, some more than others.

    You have all these left leaning networks and you bitch about ONE right leaning network in Fox News?

    Wow....at least there is one dissenting voice out there....

    --
    Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
  3. Re:Huh?! by terrycarlino · · Score: 1, Interesting

    The reason Fox News is the most watched station is because a good percentage of the people can see that collectively the other media CNN, MSNBC, PBS, ABC, CBS, etc. are in the bag for the progressives.

    Anyone who is watching can see that these news agencies basically lie about what is happening, and not just on Trump and the Republicans. They lie about anything that doesn't support their world view.

    Is Fox News as a channel bias? Absolutely. Is their commentary in the bag for Trump and the conservative world view. Absolutely.

    What makes them different than the left leaning everyone else is that their actual news reporting tends to be accurate. Their journalists, as opposed to their commentators, tend to check facts, stick to reporting news which is verified, has actual sources and makes sense. Also they pretty clearly separate news from commentary. For example their prime time fare is commentary, not news. The rest of media? Not so much. When 60 minutes went after George W Bush 20 years ago that was not journalism. It was commentary disguised as journalism. They haven't improved.

    Don't believe me? Check out Tim Pool(https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG749Dj4V2fKa143f8sE60Q) He is a real grass roots journalist who has excoriated left wing media over their failure to follow good journalistic practices. Pool is most well known for his work on Occupy Wall street and is a Liberal (not progressive) Democrat. He is in the process of reporting on the demise of progressive media. They have no credibility, are not profitable and are bleeding jobs.

  4. Re:What does the US have to do with this? by bobbied · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Canada is supporting Israel's ethnic cleansing in Palestine.

    Canada is not a good example of doing the right thing.. and is becoming increasingly corrupt..

    Israel isn't doing anything of the sort in Palestine or any other place. They are actually quite willing for the Palestinians to co-exist with them. The problem is that the Palestinians have adopted a "Death to Israel" motto and have tried to live up to it, forcing Israel to react in self defense. It's amazing, when the rockets and suicide bombers stop in Israel, the bombing stops in Palestine too. Wonder why that is?

    But, I'm guessing that's not fitting your narrative very well.

    As your self the following: Israel has the military capacity to lay waste to the Palestinians, they *could* kill every one of them in short order, yet they haven't. Do you really think that if the shoe was on the other foot, if the Palestinians had the ability to lay waste to Israel, that the Palestinians wouldn't be true to their profession of hate and destroy Israel in short order? Who do you blame then?

    --
    "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101