2014/03/03/The Washington Post Uses Biased Experts to Promote Propaganda on Venezuela
- when: 2014/03/03 (2014/03/03)
- author: Murtaza Hussain
- source: The Intercept
- topics: Washington Post propaganda Venezuela Inter-American Dialogue US/gov/USAID
- link: https://theintercept.com/2014/03/03/venezuela-establishment-media-enables-powerful-vested-interests/
- title: The Washington Post Uses Biased Experts to Promote Propaganda on Venezuela
- summary: «The Washington Post's Feb. 19 article about the recent spate of unrest in Venezuela took a breathlessly laudatory stance towards the opposition against President Nicolás Maduro. The opening paragraphs offer a good indication of its tenor...»
Excerpt
The piece continues in a similarly effusive manner throughout; but what's most interesting about it are the sources which the authors choose to cite as impartial experts. Not only do they appear hostile to the Venezuelan government and supportive of the opposition, they also appear to have serious, unstated conflicts of interest that cast doubt on the integrity of the Washington Post's entire reportage on this issue.
At one point, the article quotes Michael Shifter "president of Inter-American Dialogue[1], a think-tank in Washington", as giving the following analysis of the situation: "López is saying, 'this is intolerable, let's not be resigned to it.'... He felt this was his moment to act, to take to the streets." Going further, the piece also quotes Moisés Naím – omitting to mention that he too is a member of the Inter-American Dialogue – excoriating the previous opposition leader for not going far enough in challenging Maduro when he had the opportunity.
What the authors failed to explain is that the Inter-American Dialogue is a think-tank whose members happen to include several officials from Venezuela's previous government – the same one deposed by Hugo Chavez's Bolivarian Revolution. Even more distressingly, the Dialogue counts among its funders organizations such as Exxon Mobil, Chevron, the U.S. government through USAID, and the embassies of Canada, Mexico and Guatemala among others.