Misión Verdad is a news platform that identifies itself as an independent outlet dedicated to investigative journalism. According to the site, it has faced “sabotage” allegedly engineered by the U.S. government, compelling it to move its operations from its original URL to a third-party host on Medium, where its content is now available for readers.
Media assets
Portal: Misión Verdad
State Media Matrix Typology
Ownership and governance
Details regarding Misión Verdad’s governance structure remain conspicuously absent. In interviews conducted for this report in May 2024, local journalists revealed that the platform is primarily composed of individuals eager to champion narratives aligning with the Venezuelan government’s agenda.
Source of funding and budget
The funding origins of Misión Verdad remain shrouded in ambiguity. Its editor, William Serafino, maintains that the platform is sustained through reader donations.
However, local journalists interviewed for this report in May 2024 cast doubt on this claim, suggesting the Venezuelan government could be backing the outlet. They argue that it’s a tall order for a news platform to produce such a high volume of content relying solely on commercial revenue, particularly given Venezuela’s pressing financial climate. They further underline that the scarce number of independent outlets in Venezuela usually rely on international donors to keep their operations afloat.
Editorial independence
The editors of the outlet assert their independence and defend their mission to expose alleged falsehoods about Venezuela spread by Western governments as a legitimate enterprise.
Yet, impartial experts and local journalists suggest otherwise, contending that the platform prioritizes advancing state agendas. Their observations point to a resemblance between Misión Verdad’s tactics and those employed by Russian propaganda outlets, which attempt to muddy the waters of legitimate information by creating parallel fact-checking operations—thereby sowing confusion within the media landscape.
Misión Verdad has featured contributions from individuals with current or past ties to state institutions and has developed a reputation for seeking to undermine the credibility of human rights advocates. There is no documented framework protecting the editorial independence of Misión Verdad. Nevertheless, the platform states that its core aim is to debunk what it considers spurious claims and unjustified attacks on the Venezuelan government.
At present, no independent evaluation process or oversight structure exists to substantiate or verify the outlet’s claim of editorial autonomy.
April 2025