{"id":126744,"date":"2019-01-28T12:00:40","date_gmt":"2019-01-28T12:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=126744"},"modified":"2019-02-04T11:51:06","modified_gmt":"2019-02-04T11:51:06","slug":"resistance-media-side-with-trump-to-promote-coup-in-venezuela","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2019\/01\/resistance-media-side-with-trump-to-promote-coup-in-venezuela\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Resistance\u2019 Media Side with Trump to Promote Coup in Venezuela"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Venezuela National Assembly head Juan Guaid\u00f3<\/p><\/div>\n

25 Jan 2019 – <\/em>We like to think we have an adversarial media\u2014one that will stand up, in particular, to Donald Trump. The media assured us that they would perform their crucial democratic role in holding this dangerous new president and commander-in-chief accountable at every turn. This struck a chord with the public; in the wake of Trump\u2019s victory in 2016, the New York Times<\/strong> added over a quarter-million digital subscribers<\/a> in a matter of weeks. \u201cDemocracy,\u201d after all, \u201cDies in Darkness,\u201d as the Washington Post<\/strong> tells us on every webpage.<\/p>\n

Yet on Trump\u2019s support for regime change in Venezuela, the \u201cresistance\u201d media are lining up shoulder to shoulder with the president.<\/p>\n

After winning re-election in 2018, President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro of Venezuela was recently sworn in for a second term. However, Trump has taken the extraordinary step of declaring the elections void, condemning<\/a> the \u201cillegitimate Maduro regime.\u201d He also arranged<\/a> to have National Assembly head Juan Guaid\u00f3\u2014someone who has never even run for president, whom even the New York Times<\/strong> (1\/22\/19<\/a>) describes as \u201cvirtually unheard-of\u201d\u2014name himself the country\u2019s new leader. This has spurred the Venezuelan right wing onto the streets to try to force Maduro out of office, leading to the deaths of 14 people<\/a> in the first two nights of clashes between large pro- and anti-government demonstrations.<\/p>\n

Last year, the Trump administration preemptively declared<\/a> as fraudulent the elections they had previously been demanding<\/a>, instructing<\/a> the opposition (whom the US has been funding for two decades) to boycott the process. It even tried to \u201cpersuade<\/a>\u201d (i.e., intimidate) opposition presidential candidate Henri Falc\u00f3n not to run.<\/p>\n

With complete unanimity of outlook, the supposedly oppositional US media served to delegitimize the elections as well (FAIR.org<\/strong>, 5\/23\/1<\/a>8), with the New York Times<\/strong> (5\/20\/18<\/a>) describing them as \u201cheavily rigged\u201d and the Miami Herald<\/strong> (5\/2\/18<\/a>) christening them \u201cfraudulent,\u201d a \u201csham,\u201d a \u201ccharade\u201d and a \u201cjoke\u201d in one column alone. Yet this perception of events can only be sustained through the careful curation of information: informing readers of certain facts, while ignoring strong evidence to the contrary.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Maduro\u2019s re-election was widely anticipated in US media (e.g., PBS NewsHour, 5\/20\/18), though his victory now is generally dismissed as fraud.<\/p><\/div>\n

The Careful Curation of Information<\/strong><\/p>\n

The idea that the 2018 elections were, at best, highly questionable is taken as a fact across the media. For instance, CNBC<\/strong> (1\/23\/19<\/a>) stated that Maduro\u2019s re-election \u201cwas widely viewed as a sham due to widespread election irregularities\u201d; Reuters<\/strong> (1\/23\/19<\/a>) said the vote was \u201cwidely viewed as fraudulent.\u201d<\/p>\n

In reality, Venezuela has one of the most intensely monitored election system in the world, and the government called on the United Nations to send observation teams. This was blocked by the US on the grounds that the UN would \u201cvalidate\u201d the elections. Despite this, numerous international<\/a> election monitoring organizations attended and attested to the vote\u2019s quality<\/a>. For example, the report of the African Nations\u2019 delegation stated<\/a>:<\/p>\n

The Venezuelan people who chose to participate in the electoral process of May 20 were not subject to any external pressures, and carried out their right to vote in a peaceful and civil manner which we commend. As such, we implore the international community to abide by international law and the principles of self-determination and recognize what we consider to be a free, fair, fully transparent and sovereign election.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Maduro\u2019s re-election was widely anticipated in establishment media, with campaign polls indicating that many opposition voters planned to sit out the election. \u201cMaduro Favored as Venezuelans Vote Amid Crisis\u201d was the headline of a PBS NewsHour<\/strong> story (5\/20\/18<\/a>), which went on to explain:<\/p>\n

While polls show Venezuelans overwhelmingly blame Maduro for their mounting troubles, he\u2019s still heavily favored to win thanks to a boycott of the election by his main rivals.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The current protests are almost universally framed in corporate media as a democratic people\u2019s uprising, akin to the Arab Spring, rather than a contested civil conflict, or even as a US-supported coup attempt, as alternative media are presenting it (Democracy Now!<\/strong>, 1\/18\/19<\/a>; Real News,<\/strong> 1\/23\/19<\/a>; The Canary<\/strong>, 1\/23\/19<\/a>). \u201cCoup\u201d is a word avoided by corporate media when not quoted from Maduro or his supporters; as Reed Richardson noted<\/a>, an AP<\/strong> profile (1\/24\/19<\/a>) of Guaido referred to his naming himself president as a \u201cstandoff,\u201d a \u201cchallenge,\u201d an \u201cuprising,\u201d a \u201cfrontal assault on Maduro\u2019s authority\u201d and a \u201crestoration of Venezuela\u2019s democracy\u201d\u2014but never a \u201ccoup.\u201d<\/p>\n

The New York Times<\/strong> (1\/23\/19<\/a>) noted that Guaid\u00f3 was \u201ccheered on by thousands of supporters in the streets and a growing number of governments, including the United States.\u201d CNN<\/strong> (1\/23\/19<\/a>) reported a vast, energetic movement around him, as \u201cVenezuelans took to the streets in nationwide protests,\u201d while CNBC<\/strong> (1\/23\/19<\/a>) claimed there were \u201chundreds of thousands of Venezuelans\u201d out on the streets, chanting together and waving national flags, demanding an end to Maduro\u2019s \u201csocialist government.\u201d Bloomberg<\/strong> (1\/23\/19<\/a>) worried that the leftist government would \u201ccrush\u201d the protests. Yet there was very little mention, let alone coverage, of counter-protests<\/a> across the country that complicate the picture.<\/p>\n

Ignoring the US Role<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Times<\/strong> article also provides the context of the dire economic circumstances the country finds itself in, suggesting that this was the reason people are in the streets, and not in response to Trump\u2019s call: \u201cCitizens of what was once one of the region\u2019s wealthiest nations, endowed with plentiful oil, have starved to death and died from preventable diseases,\u201d the piece claimed. It fails to acknowledge the substantial US role in Venezuela\u2019s economic and political crisis.<\/p>\n

Trump ramped up the Obama administration\u2019s sanctions, an action that caused Venezuelan oil production to plummet (FAIR.org<\/strong>, 12\/17\/18<\/a>) and the economy to nosedive. Furthermore, US economic warfare against the country has cut Venezuela off from global capital markets\u2014with the Trump administration threatening bankers with 30 years in prison if they negotiate with Caracas a standard restructuring of its debt (AlterNet<\/strong>, 11\/13\/17<\/a>). The UN Human Rights Council formally condemned<\/a> the US, noting that the sanctions target \u201cthe poor and most vulnerable classes,\u201d called on all member states to break them, and even began discussing reparations the US should pay to Venezuela.<\/p>\n

The US has long supported regime change in Venezuela, going back at least to the abortive coup<\/a> against President Hugo Chavez in 2002. It has also spent a fortune through the National Endowment for Democracy and USAID to prop up opposition groups inside the country. Trump recently appointed neocon Iraq War architect John Bolton as national security advisor, who wasted little time in declaring Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua a \u201ctroika of tyranny,\u201d echoing the infamous \u201caxis of evil\u201d moniker he employed<\/a> during the Iraq War. Yet this crucial context in understanding the situation is missing from news accounts.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Corporate media passed on the chance to factcheck Trump administration claims about Venezuela.<\/p><\/div>\n

A Lapse of Factchecking<\/strong><\/p>\n

Resistance media have made it a point of pride to vigorously factcheck and scrutinize every one of the administration\u2019s statements; the Washington Post<\/strong> (12\/30\/18<\/a>) recently calculated that Trump makes an average of 15 false claims per day. And yet, when it comes to Venezuela, the administration\u2019s dubious claims are taken at face value.<\/p>\n

For example, in a recorded message, VP Mike Pence stated<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Nicolas Maduro is a dictator with no legitimate claim to power. He has never won the presidency in a free and fair election, and has maintained his grip of power by imprisoning anyone who dares to oppose him.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This announcement was picked up across the media, including by Reuters<\/strong> (1\/22\/19<\/a>), ABC News<\/strong> (1\/23\/19<\/a>), Newsweek<\/strong> (1\/22\/19<\/a>), the Los Angeles Times<\/strong> (1\/22\/19<\/a>) and MSN<\/strong> (1\/23\/19<\/a>). Yet none of these organizations factchecked this claim, allowing it to stand unchallenged as the basis of a story, further bolstering the dominant narrative.<\/p>\n

This was not a difficult claim to debunk. Maduro won his first election in 2013, recognized by every country in the world except the US, and which even the Washington-funded organization the Carter Center<\/a> declared free and fair. Indeed, former President Jimmy Carter in 2012 stated<\/a> the Venezuelan election system to be the \u201cbest in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was considered a shameful anti-democratic misstep when the New York Times<\/strong>\u2019 editorial board (4\/13\/02<\/a>) endorsed the 2002 coup. Yet for more than a year, US media have been openly calling for another one (FAIR.org<\/strong>, 5\/16\/18<\/a>). The Washington Post<\/strong> (11\/15\/17<\/a>) ran with the headline, \u201cThe Odds of a Military Coup in Venezuela Are Going Up. But Sometimes Coups Can Lead to Democracy.\u201d For a media so focused on allegations of foreign interference in US politics, it is remarkable how accepting they are of Trump becoming personal moral arbiter of Venezuela.<\/p>\n

It is revealing how the supposedly anti-Trump media have closed ranks and are marching in lockstep with the administration when it comes to overthrowing Washington\u2019s official enemies. The media are not opposing Trump or tyranny; they are enabling it.<\/p>\n

______________________________________________________<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/em>Alan MacLeod @AlanRMacLeod<\/a> is a member of the Glasgow University Media Group. His latest book, <\/em>Bad News from Venezuela: 20 Years of Fake News and Misreporting, was published by Routledge in April.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Go to Original \u2013 fair.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

25 Jan 2019 – After winning re-election in 2018, President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro of Venezuela was recently sworn in for a second term. However, Trump has taken the extraordinary step of declaring the elections void. He also arranged to have National Assembly head Juan Guaid\u00f3 name himself the country\u2019s new leader. This has spurred the Venezuelan right wing onto the streets to try to force Maduro out of office, leading to the deaths of 14 people. On Trump\u2019s support for regime change in Venezuela, the \u201cresistance\u201d media are lining up shoulder to shoulder with the president.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":126746,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[197,65,62,53],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-126744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-special-feature","category-anglo-america","category-media","category-latin-america-and-the-caribbean"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=126744"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126744\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126746"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=126744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=126744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}