Misión Verdad is a news portal that presents itself as an independent investigative journalism website. The website states that due to “sabotaging” orchestrated by the U.S. government, it had to relocate its content from its original URL to a third-party platform (Medium), where its content is now accessible.
Media assets
Portal: Misión Verdad
State Media Matrix Typology: Captured Private Media (CaPr)
Ownership and governance
There is no information about how Misión Verdad is governed. Local journalists interviewed for this report in May 2024 say that the outlet is staffed with individuals willing to promote content supporting the Venezuelan government.
Source of funding and budget
There is no clear information about the source of funding for Misión Verdad. Its editor, William Serafino, claims that the portal is funded through donations from readers.
However, local journalists interviewed for this report in May 2024 argue that the Venezuelan government supports the outlet. They point out that it’s unlikely for a news portal to generate such a large amount of content solely through commercial revenue, especially considering the financial challenges in Venezuela. They note that international donors fund the few independent outlets in Venezuela.
Editorial independence
The outlet’s editors claim to be independent and argue that their mission to debunk lies about Venezuela propagated by Western governments is legitimate. However, independent experts and journalists in Venezuela assert that the outlet promotes the government’s interests. They recognize in Misión Verdad a pattern created by Russian propaganda channels to counter the wave of legitimate, independent fact-checking initiatives by launching their fact-checking outlets, a move aimed at creating chaos in the news ecosystem.
Misión Verdad has published content from individuals who have previously worked or currently work within state institutions. The media outlet is recognized for its efforts to discredit human rights advocates.
There is no statute to establish the editorial independence of Misión Verdad. The website, however, openly states that its primary mission is to debunk false accusations and baseless attacks against the Venezuelan government.
No independent assessment/oversight mechanism to validate the editorial independence of Misión Verdad has been identified.
August 2024