The Venezuelan people have not only suffered the devastating effects of a unique double earthquake, but also a barrage of fake news from the global capitalist press, which has abandoned all ethical communication practices. Added to this are the influencers who make ill-advised judgments about public infrastructure, without any expertise in geophysics or seismology, in an attempt to destabilize the country politically.
This situation is not new. Venezuela has been a major laboratory for manipulation ever since it defended its sovereignty, a fundamental principle of our Constitution, and participatory, direct, and horizontal democracy, which, through its justice system, guarantees social equity.
This manipulation, as a practice of abuse of power, is a form of control that consists of instilling false beliefs, for example, the belief that a system that prioritizes social welfare creates apathetic citizens who do not appreciate (and consequently do not deserve) benefits (constitutional rights) such as housing and healthcare. It is wielded by the elite of media corporations within global capitalism, who also represent the interests of economic elites, to generate a false consensus in favor of their own interests.
In particular, for some months now, these media outlets have sought to reposition narratives such as the humanitarian crisis, recycling them, for example, one week focusing on salaries, and thereby intentionally ignoring the bonus policy represented by a comprehensive income of $250, and then, the next week, targeting public services, such as water and electricity, while conveniently omitting that we are a country under sanctions, or unilateral coercive measures, which recently received some relief from OFAC licenses.
In the post-earthquake scenario, they used the crisis caused by the natural disaster to accuse the Venezuelan government of not attending to the victims of the earthquake immediately, and thus ignored that officials of the entities involved and rescuers require a minimum amount of travel time.
Providing housing for the victims is as urgent as legally regulating digital media content on social networks to counteract manipulation by fake news, which violates human rights.
