With two months to go before Venezuelan elections, Western outlets are busy crafting familiar narratives, and leading the charge is the New York Times.

In less than one week, the New York Times published three articles about the upcoming Venezuelan election, all of which referred to Maduro as “authoritarian” in the headline, rather than by name, so readers immediately take note of the “bad guy”:

  • “Meet the Candidate Challenging Venezuela’s Authoritarian President” (5/6/24)
  • “Reality Show Contestants Compete for an Authoritarian’s Campaign Jingle” (5/9/24)
  • “Can Elections Force Venezuela’s Authoritarian Leader From Power?” (5/11/24)

The Times’ Julie Turkewitz opened the third piece by claiming that Venezuelans are voting “for the first time in more than a decade…in a presidential election with an opposition candidate who has a fighting—if slim and improbable—chance at winning.”

(Emphasis original.)