Framing Rebellion: An Analysis of the New York Times 2014 Anti-government Protests in Venezuela

This research explores how the mainstream news media outlet, the 'New York Times' framed the 2014 anti-government protests in Venezuela, which erupted online in February, 2014. A content analysis revealed that the dominant narrative disseminated by the 'New York Times' conveyed the misleading impression that Venezuela was yet another nation ripe for democratic revolution, poised to overthrow a violently repressive regime. The Venezuelan anti-government protest(or)s were overwhelmingly framed in terms of state repression of peaceful protes(or)s, which masked their underlying causes. This research demonstrates that the framing of social protests is heavily influenced by the geopolitical interests that inform them, especially when mainstream news media outlets report on protests in “regimes” considered to be damaging to geo-political interests, and a threat to western and U.S. hegemony.