{"id":18079,"date":"2021-01-27T21:03:09","date_gmt":"2021-01-27T21:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fair.org\/?p=9019635"},"modified":"2021-01-27T21:03:09","modified_gmt":"2021-01-27T21:03:09","slug":"us-media-require-no-evidence-for-claims-of-electoral-fraud-in-venezuela","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/01\/27\/us-media-require-no-evidence-for-claims-of-electoral-fraud-in-venezuela\/","title":{"rendered":"US Media Require No Evidence for Claims of Electoral Fraud\u2014in Venezuela"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The media establishment was horrified when the \u201cStop the Steal\u201d mob stormed the US Capitol on January 6, and the sentence was swift: President Donald Trump, with his baseless fraud allegations and refusal to concede defeat, was responsible for the mayhem.<\/p>\n
Corporate outlets have summarily denounced Trump\u2019s bogus claims of vote fraud, though for years they have faithfully echoed similarly spurious accusations made about\u00a0 elections held by official enemies (FAIR.org<\/b>, 5\/23\/18<\/a>, 8\/23\/18<\/a>, 2\/12\/19<\/a>, 8\/5\/19<\/a>, 11\/18\/19<\/a>, 10\/30\/20<\/a>,\u00a0 11\/20\/20<\/a>). But media make no effort to account for years of hypocrisy and double standards.<\/p>\n Venezuela\u2019s December 6 parliamentary election offers an instructive case study, with corporate journalists unquestioningly repeating Trump officials\u2019 unsubstantiated allegations of \u201cfraud\u201d there at the same time that they debunked Trump\u2019s virtually identical claims vis-a-vis the US election. And the right-wing violence that was rightly portrayed as a threat to democracy in the US was heartily endorsed as a democratic campaign in Venezuela, where it served Washington\u2019s foreign policy goals.<\/p>\n The media\u2019s uncritical echoing of fraud allegations is in turn used to justify the continuation of Washington\u2019s regime-change policies. Early signs point to this dynamic continuing in full force under the new Biden administration (Reuters<\/b>, 1\/19\/21<\/a>).<\/p>\n Who needs ‘evidence’?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n