Aporrea

Aporrea is a Venezuelan website that publishes news and opinions from a left-wing perspective. It ranks as the fourth most visited local political site in the country, according to site metrics Alexa.com,[1] and it claims to be the first among local independent left-leaning outlets.[2] Most of the site'a content was supportive of the political changes championed by late president Hugo Chávez, but in recent years, it heavily carries opinions and news articles critical of the current government led by Chavez's protégé Nicolas Maduro, turning it into a "gathering place for dissidence within chavismo".[3]

Aporrea
URLwww.aporrea.org
LaunchedMay 2002
Current statusActive

Aporrea is made up of volunteers who, depending on their personal and work commitments, donate their time to insert the news, complaints, post opinion articles and take to the streets to cover events not covered by other media outlets.[2]

History

Aporrea was created after the 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt to "defend the gains of the 1999 Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the will of the people". The site was created by Gonzalo Gomez and Martin Sanchez, who withdrew in 2004 to take up a post as diplomat for the Venezuelan government.[4]

Since 2010, the Venezuelan government stopped contracting advertisement on the site, forcing it to run commercial ads. Advertising on the site remains free for cooperatives, small businesses and NGOs.[2]

Censorship

Aporrea is currently censored in Venezuelan government owned Internet service providers. Since February 2019, the site is unreachable to users of Cantv and Movilnet, the State ISPs, which make serve the majority of the country's population. Other local independent media outlets are also affected.[5]

The site has been the target of state sponsored attacks aimed at silencing it. "Even media claiming to maintain a neutral position, such as Aporrea, were attacked," said Freedom House in one of its reports on Internet freedom in Venezuela.

Policies

The site claims that the opinions it publishes "currently reflect the complex and diverse nature of the left in Venezuela, which gravitates from enthusiastic support for any measure or policy of the current government, to its absolute rejection, with infinite variants (critical support, slight opposition, neutrality, etc.). Aporrea as a team, does not take a public position in this regard, and seeks to remain open to the debate of all the tendencies of the Venezuelan left."[2]

Although the site claims to take no official sides in Venezuela's political situation, its current director, Gonzalo Gomez, is known for his opposition to the Maduro government. "Maduro deserves to be recalled," said Gomez in reference to a recall referendum against the president. According to Gomez, Aporrea's role as an independent left wing outlet is pivotal, as content critical of government policies "have no space in State owned media".[6]

Aporrea, according to its website, does not support any kind of discrimination based on "race, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, religious affiliation, gender, disability status, skin color, accent when speaking, etc.". The website lists rules for opinion articles, one of which asks that users "try to be respectful, especially when referring to other columnists of Aporrea or figures of the Bolivarian Government or the left in general, with whom you may have disagreements. We suggest that criticisms and replies to other articles be restricted to responding to arguments, not personal attacks or insults. We reserve the right to reject material which offends, defames, or humiliates others".[4]

Critical reception

Venezuelan Government figures have publicly criticized the site. Diosdado Cabello, the current President of the National Constituent Assembly described Aporrea and its columnists a traitors. "Write everything you want, but enough of betrayals! You can write everything you want, nobody forbids it, you are within your rights, but define yourself [politically].[7]"

According to Manuel Laya of the Communist Party of Venezuela, Aporrea no longer serves its original purpose and was an instrument of the "fifth column" to hinder the flow of information.[8]

According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Aporrea has "a record of promoting antisemitic conspiracies"[9] and presented multiple articles which they found offensive in their 2014 Antisemitismo en Venezuela report.[10] The Simon Wiesenthal Center also criticized what it considers anti-Semitic commentary on the website.[11] Several other organizations have also criticized the website citing anti-Semitic ideas.[12][13][14][15][16][17][18] Aporrea claims to have removed such content and apologized for it, urging organizations or groups affected to reach out to them directly, promising to honor take down requests for offensive content.[2]

References
  1. "Alexa - Top Sites in Venezuela - Alexa". www.alexa.com. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
  2. Aporrea.org. "Acerca de Aporrea. Contacto / About Aporrea. Contact us". Aporrea (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-09-23.
  3. A, Gustavo Hernández (2019-02-17). "The Counterattack of the Propaganda Apparatus". Caracas Chronicles. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
  4. "Sobre Aporrea". Aporrea. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  5. Venezuela, IPYS. "Balance Especial IPYSve | 881: la lista de la censura digital en Venezuela". IPYS (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-09-23.
  6. "Gonzalo Gómez, de Aporrea: "Maduro merece ser revocado"". elestimulo.com. Retrieved 2019-09-23.
  7. Franco, Vielma (2 February 2017). "That opposition site called Aporrea". Misión Verdad (Mission Truth). Retrieved 22 September 2019.
  8. Manuel Laya (25 November 2009). "Aporrea ya no aporrea". Partido Comunista de Venezuela. Retrieved 4 May 2010.
  9. "International Scapegoating of Israel and Jews for Spreading COVID-19". Anti-Defamation League. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  10. "Antisemitismo en Venezuela" (PDF). Anti-Defamation League. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  11. "Wiesenthal Center Denounces Venezuelan Anti-Semitic Defamation of New Argentine Foreign Minister". The Simon Wiesenthal Center. Archived from the original on 2018-07-01. Retrieved 2014-06-15.
  12. Noticias24 (29 January 2010). "Chávez y los ataques antisemitas en Latinoamérica". Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  13. El Pais (8 February 2009). "Un tema de justicia, no de impunidad".
  14. El Universal (31 January 2009). "Centro Wiesenthal pide a la OEA que se pronuncie sobre ataque antisemita en Venezuela".
  15. Diario HOY (31 January 2009). "Incidentes antisemitas en Latinoamérica". Archived from the original on 14 July 2014.
  16. Noticias24 (6 February 2009). "Surgen casos de antisemitismo en Venezuela". Archived from the original on 20 June 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
  17. La Guía de Venezuela. "Sammy Eppel: 'Aporrea publicó 164 piezas antisemitas que incitan al odio'".
  18. El Universo (6 February 2009). "Surgen casos de antisemitismo en Venezuela".
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