Aporrea is a Venezuelan website that publishes news and opinions from the point of view of supporters of former president

Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; ; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician, Bolivarian Revolution, revolutionary, and Officer (armed forces), military officer who served as the 52nd president of Venezuela from 1999 until De ...

and the

Bolivarian Revolution The Bolivarian Revolution is a social revolution and ongoing political process in Venezuela that was started by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, the founder of the Fifth Republic Movement and later the United Socialist Party of Venezuela ...

. It ranks as the fourth most visited local political site in the country, according to site metrics Alexa.com, and it claims to be the first among local independent left-leaning outlets. Most of the site's content was supportive of the political changes promoted by late president

, but in recent years, it has content critical of the current government led by Chávez's protégé

Nicolás Maduro Nicolás Maduro Moros (; born 23 November 1962) is a Venezuelan politician and former union leader serving as the 53rd president of Venezuela since 2013. Previously, he was the 24th Vice President of Venezuela, vice president from 2012 to 20 ...

, turning it into a "gathering place for dissidence within

chavismo ''Chavismo'' (from ), also known in English as Chavism or Chavezism, is a left-wing populist political ideology based on the ideas, programs and government style associated with the Venezuelan President between 1999 and 2013 Hugo Chávez that ...

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 Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

and the will of the people". The site was created by Gonzalo Gómez and Martin Sánchez, the latter of which withdrew in 2004 to take up a post as diplomat for the Venezuelan government. 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. In 2019, Gonzalo Gómez declared that "Maduro deserves to be recalled". 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".

Censorship

Aporrea is currently censored in Venezuelan government owned Internet service providers. Since February 2019, the site is unreachable to users of

Cantv CANTV () is the state-run telephone and internet service provider in Venezuela. It was one of the first telephone service enterprises in the country, founded in 1930. The largest telecommunications provider in Venezuela, it was privatized in 19 ...

and

Movilnet CANTV () is the state-run telephone and internet service provider in Venezuela. It was one of the first telephone service enterprises in the country, founded in 1930. The largest telecommunications provider in Venezuela, it was privatized in 19 ...

, the State ISPs, which make serve the majority of the country's population. Other local independent media outlets are also affected. 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 Freedom House is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. It is best known for political advocacy surrounding issues of democracy, Freedom (political), political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, wi ...

in one of its reports on Internet freedom in Venezuela. On 23 February 2023, Aporrea was the subject of a DNS block, which was denounced by its director, Gonzalo Gómez.

Critical reception

Venezuelan government figures have publicly criticized the site.

Diosdado Cabello Diosdado Cabello Rondón (born 15 April 1963Vicepresidencia de la República Bolivariana de VenezuelaDiosdado Cabello Rondón, accessed 19 April 2010) is a Venezuelan politician who currently serves as Minister of Interior, Justice and Peace s ...

, the current president of the National Constituent Assembly described Aporrea and its columnists as 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 olitically" According to Manuel Laya of the

Communist Party of Venezuela The Communist Party of Venezuela (, PCV) is a communist party in Venezuela. Founded in 1931, it is the oldest active political party in Venezuela, and was the country's main leftist party until it fractured into rival factions in 1971. The P ...

, Aporrea no longer serves its original purpose and was an instrument of the "

fifth column A fifth column is a group of people who undermine a larger group or nation from within, usually in favor of an enemy group or another nation. The activities of a fifth column can be overt or clandestine. Forces gathered in secret can mobilize ...

" to hinder the flow of information. According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Aporrea has "a record of promoting antisemitic conspiracies" and presented multiple articles which they found offensive in their 2014 ''Antisemitismo en Venezuela'' report. The

Simon Wiesenthal Center The Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) is a Jewish human rights organization established in 1977 by Rabbi Marvin Hier. The center is known for Holocaust research and remembrance, hunting Nazi war criminals, combating antisemitism, tolerance educati ...

also criticized what it considers anti-Semitic commentary on the website. Several other organizations have also criticized the website citing anti-Semitic ideas. Aporrea attacked both the Anti-Defamation League and the Simon Wiesenthal Center, criticizing that the organizations for not contacting Aporrea to ask the content to be removed and for condemning the website's editorial stance on

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://www.aporrea.org/ Internet properties established in 2002 Spanish-language websites Organizations of the Bolivarian Revolution Propaganda in Venezuela Political Internet forums Venezuelan news websites