Thread by @venanalysis

🧵🗞️ Western media reporting on Venezuela is biased almost by definition. We know that going in. But every so often there’s a piece that ticks all the dishonesty boxes. The bad journalism equivalent of a perfect game. You might have guessed, this comes from the @guardian (thread)

The article in question is this one: theguardian.com/global-develop…

It is brought to you by the Bill and Melinda @gatesfoundation. Because we all know no one cares more about honest reporting and “global development” than freaking billionaires

The piece is about a recent proposal from the National Assembly to regulate NGO activities. It’s off to an ominous start w/ this absurdity. How on Earth do NGOs (esp. foreign-funded ones) have anything to do with “democracy”? Corporate journos think western money equals democracy

Before we continue, to find out what the bill is about and what concerns it aims to address, check out our report below
venezuelanalysis.com/news/15694

It’s pretty amazing that western outlets (the Guardian drives that bandwagon) see RUSSIAN AGENTS under every rock, yet they want Venezuelan opposition parties to get US funding w/ no accountability or scrutiny whatsoever. Talk about doubling down on those double standards

Gotta get those biased takes out there to steer the reader in the right direction. “Democratic erosion” here is code for “no longer governed by western puppets who granted unfettered access to national resources” or “daring to be independent from Washington”

And voilà! A neat little nugget of western propaganda. Maduro “clings on to power” despite, you know, being democratically elected. There is also something quite important missing in this description of the Venezuelan crisis: murderous US-led sanctions #SanctionsKill

Sanctions are by far the biggest factor affecting Venezuela and Venezuelans’ human rights. Want to guess how many times the @guardian mentions the word “sanctions”? That’s right, a grand total of zero. B/c they endorse the mass murder of civilians in the name of “democracy”

As another aside (apologies for the interruption), make sure to watch our “ultimate guide” on US sanctions to find out all about these deadly measures and corporate media complicity. And share it! #SanctionsKill
venezuelanalysis.com/video/15519

A long-time favorite (see here: bit.ly/3JrMkLz). Pretty ironic coming from a source that justified the persecution of Assange and the closure of Russian outlets left and right. Right-wing, US-funded outlets are still way more available here than RT/Sputnik in the West

The false premise leads to an outright lie. It was not “the UN” but a highly contested “fact finding mission” that only conducted anonymous interviews abroad and never set foot in the country. This report has more: venezuelanalysis.com/news/15607

In contrast, other multilateral orgs like the office of the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights have been on the ground. They have been more balanced, denouncing sanctions and also police+judicial abuses (which do exist). Only w/o the goal of justifying regime change efforts

Here’s a look at the kind of voices the Guardian chooses. It’s the journalistic standards for Venezuela reporting that are getting close to North Korea's (i.e. ever lower). Also, “control of food and medicine for political gain,” isn’t that precisely what sanctions aim to do?

Ignore the unfounded “dictator” label and the “widely considered as a sham” elections. That’s the corporate media script, we can’t debunk it every time. The awesome bit is the reference to Guaidó. He was “recognized” as “interim president.” Care to tell us what happened next?

It’s like saying “Hitler invaded the Soviet Union” or “the US intervened in Vietnam” and not saying how that turned out… The Guardian was (of course!) a big enthusiast of the self-proclaimed circus. The article below has a humorous take on Guaidó’s demise
venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/15677

This is more ignorance than lying. Hyperinflation is monthly inflation over 50%. That hasn’t happened since December 2020. Accumulated yearly inflation is over 200%, which is a lot, but not hyperinflation. But given the generalized disregard for the truth, this is a minor issue

The quote above is from the corporate media’s favorite faux-left commentators, WOLA. Again, it misses the point, because the NGO-industrial complex has nothing to do with struggles for higher wages. The article below has more on WOLA
venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/14902

Bad journalism on steroids. Türk had already left Venezuela and issued a statement (bit.ly/3DOSaDl) TWO DAYS before this disgusting piece came out. He said he “shared observations and concerns” about the bill, nothing about it signaling the end of “democracy”…

Wow, this has been quite a marathon. Our deepest appreciation to those who stuck w/ us til the end.

Remember that VA’s work providing accurate reporting and taking down western media propaganda is 100% reader-funded. You can become a subscriber here: venezuelanalysis.com/donate