PanAm Post

The ''PanAm Post'' is a conservative libertarian and anti-socialist news and opinion website launched in 2013 by Luis Henrique Ball Zuloaga. It publishes Spanish and English news, investigations, and opinion from a free market perspective and "in the tradition of pan-Americanism." The outlet is based in Miami, Florida.

History

The site was founded in 2013 by Luis Henrique Ball Zuloaga. Ball stated that ''PanAm Post'' began as a project to counter the reporting of news outlets in Latin America that he believed had been "taken over by socialist ideas." While the platform was originally launched to offer news and analysis on Latin America for English-speaking audiences, by 2019 its content was primarily published in Spanish.

Following its launch, former editor-in-chief Fergus Hodgson wrote that the ''PanAm Post'' was a new generation of journalists dedicated to bilingual coverage of social movements. Hodgson criticized what he called the "bloated and inefficient organizational structures" of legacy media and cited local U.S. journalist Ben Swann as a source of inspiration.

Demographics

The majority of visitors to the ''PanAm Post'' are from the United States, followed by Venezuela, Guatemala, Argentina, and Colombia, in that order. Most visitors are college educated and visit the website at home.

Reception

Communication studies researchers at the University of Valencia regarded the ''PanAm Post'' in 2022 as pseudo-media alongside publications such as ''Breitbart News'' and '' Okdiario''. Pseudo-media, they noted, describes publications that imitate the reporting styles of traditional media "while infringing the most basic journalistic conventions, such as the conflation of data and commentary, with an overt ideological bias."

Controversies

FARC defamation lawsuit

On August 20, 2019, ''PanAm Post'' editor-in-chief Vanessa Vallejo published an article titled "''Los violadores que son 'honorables' congresistas en Colombia''" (The rapists who are 'honorable' congressmen in Colombia) accompanied by a photo of FARC senator Carlos Lozada. Lozada, who held one of the ten congressional seats reserved for the FARC since 2018 under the Colombian peace agreement, filed a defamation lawsuit against Vallejo and the ''PanAm Post'' in a Bogotá court. A judge initially ruled against the ''PanAm Post'' but that ruling was overturned on appeal.

Coverage of Venezuelan opposition

In mid-2019, ''PanAm Post'' editor-in-chief Orlando Avendaño published investigative articles that alleged the involvement of Venezuelan politicians in corruption. On June 15, Avendaño authored an investigative report that claimed that the disputed acting president of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó, had improperly used humanitarian aid funds to maintain military officials who deserted to Cúcuta during the 2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis. Then on August 23, Avendaño published an article that asserted that opposition politician Henry Ramos Allup had participated in a corruption scheme involving the state oil company PDVSA. Ramos's Democratic Action party responded by categorically denying the claims and accusing the ''PanAm Post'' of defamation. In a letter, party officials alleged that Ramos was the target of a defamation campaign as a result of his "strong and unwavering support" for Juan Guaidó.

The ''PanAm Post'' staff published an editorial defending the veracity of their reporting and decision to criticize certain opposition politicians. The editorial also acknowledged their ideological affinity for the views of Diego Arria, Antonio Ledezma, and María Corina Machado, calling them "representatives of a true opposition".

References

External links

PanAm Post on FacebookPanAm Post
on Twitter

{{DEFAULTSORT:PanAm Post
American news websites
Free market
Pan-Americanism
Culture of Miami
2013 establishments in Florida
Spanish-language websites