This is only a monitor

This blog has a very simple purpose: to monitor conspiracy theories in Venezuelan political discourse.

There are many definitions of conspiracy theories, I subscribe to a broad and simple one: “the belief that all events are the consequence of the actions of a person or a group with evil intentions.” Since many events are indeed the consequence of actions of persons or groups, conspiracy theories sometimes turn out to be true, or not. Therefore this blog will not be about “revealing” conspiracies or “debunking” conspiracy theories.

This blog will loosely take a pragmatist perspective. I will follow as closely as possible the main threads of conspiracy theory discourse in Venezuela without assessing their truth claims. However, I will also comment from time to time on the political consequences of the use of conspiracy theories in political discourse.

Given the polarization of Venezuelan media, I cast the net wide, but when quoting government officials I usually rely on official State media (mainly from the Agencia Venezuelana de Noticias AVN, but also Venezolana de Television VTV, and the Sistema Bolivariano de Comunicación e Información SIBCI), when quoting opposition leaders I try to do it from El Universal. For opinion articles I regularly check Aporrea, Noticias24, and Noticiero Digital.

Comments and criticisms are welcome. English is not my native language so corrections and editing comments are very welcome.