New NGO fact‑checking site faces imitators and state pressures in Venezuela

The useful part

At the same time, Pulso Venezuela is intended to be a trustworthy source of fact-checking against disinformation campaigns and fake news, a responsibility that falls primarily within the purview of OVFN. This has not gone unnoticed by bad-faith actors, which are using fact-checking as a tool for spreading disinformation. Around the same time as Pulso Venezuela's announcement, Cazadores reported on Venezuela Verifica, a brand-new fact-checking site that happens to be the successor of Venezuela News, the outlet linked to Alex Saab.

How it works

• However, they brought new people onto its roster of presenters, like former VTV news anchor Boris Castellanos.
• Back in mid-May, Venezuela News (VN) quickly shut down its operations right after Alex Saab was arrested in Caracas and extradited to the US.
• In late August, all of VN's social media accounts had a new name and logo while erasing their previous content on most of them.
• The most unsurprising finding of all is that, by just looking at its YouTube channel or Instagram account, Venezuela Verifica is basically Venezuela News' content with a slight makeover.
• It's true that the information landscape in Venezuela has seen some changes since the events of January 3 and that independent media has seen a respite compared to what they had to go through during the...

What to take from it

Donate Related The Digital Operation Defending a Venezuelan Oligarch Cazadores de Fake News August 22, 2026 The Earthquakes Are the New Big Excuse Gustavo Hernández A. Fighting Chavismo's New "Fact-Checking" Sites | Caracas Chronicles Four Venezuelan NGOs—Justicia, Encuentro y Perdón (JEP), Acceso a la Justicia, Observatorio Venezolano de Fake News (OVFN), and Observatorio de Universidades (OBU)—recently launched the web portal Pulso Venezuela in both Spanish and English. This comes as the upcoming second round of talks between representatives of the 2015 National Assembly and the interim government is expected to include the subject of freedom of speech.

Example or evidence

• Alex Saab Journalism Propaganda Caracas Chronicles is 100% reader-supported.
• We've been able to hang on for 22 years in one of the craziest media landscapes in the world.
• We've seen different media outlets in Venezuela (and abroad) closing shop, something we're looking to avoid at all costs.
• August 18, 2026 A Month After the Disaster, Chavismo Tries to Control the Narrative Gustavo Hernández A.

Details worth keeping

The main purpose of Pulso Venezuela is to provide reliable information regarding important issues like the rule of law and justice (handled by Acceso a la Justicia), official repression and the situation of political prisoners (in the hands of JEP), and the overall state of higher education in the country (handled by OBU). This approach can extend to the site's entire content in general. Even some of VN's old faces are present, like Pedro Carvajalino.

Related coverage

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