JoJo Farrell (ZNet): U.S. Media Bias and Recent Student Violence in Venezuela
Providing links to the major U.S. outlets' reporting "that following peaceful protests in downtown Caracas, masked Chavista gunmen attacked anti-government supporters on the campus of the Central University of Venezuela," Farrell cites "Chávez supporters, eyewitnesses and videotape recorded by the community TV station Catia TV" to show how the U.S. coverage "left out an important chunk of the story."
After last Wednesday's peaceful protest...opposition students, mainly from neighboring private universities, chased down a group of pro-Chávez students putting up signs in favor of the reform. The pro-Chávez group found refuge in the faculty of Social Work.... Opposition students surrounded the faculty, armed with weapons, rocks and gas masks, shouting, "We will lynch you all." According to reports, opposition students fired weapons, threw rocks at the students inside the building and lit fire to the entrance. Chávez supporters present that day affirm that the motorcyclists televised to the world as sinister gunmen arrived on the scene as part of a rescue mission.... They argue that this was necessary because the Venezuelan army or police force are, by law, not allowed to enter the grounds of the university.
While careful to note that "the entire truth is not known," Farrell considers how "the inability of the international press to report an unbiased account calls into question their journalistic integrity," and warns that "the consequences of this could lead to further violence in Venezuela."
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