US Sanctions Against Venezuela Force Abby Martin’s “Empire Files” to Shut Down

The U.S. government is not only seeking to punish the Venezuelan government with its increasingly draconian sanctions, but is seeking as well to cripple the teleSUR media network, despite the fact that it is funded by several other countries.

Whitney Webb
By Whitney Webb
Abby Martin interviews Venezuelan opposition protesters

LOS ANGELES -- Recent sanctions imposed on Venezuela by the Trump administration have forced the Empire Files program, hosted by American investigative journalist Abby Martin, to shut down. The decision to officially announce the show’s end came after blocks on wire transfers originating in Venezuela and sent to the U.S. were recently imposed,

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Facebook Suspends teleSUR English Without Explanation, Again

“It seems like the censorship power many people on the left want Silicon Valley executives to unilaterally exercise might end up being wielded against the left. One good way to know that would happen is that is already is happening.”

Jessica Corbett
By Jessica Corbett
Facebook Suspends teleSUR

For the second time this year, Facebook has suspended teleSUR English's page, claiming the left-leaning Latin American news network violated the social media platform's terms of service without any further explanation—a move that provoked outrage and concern among journalists, free speech advocates, and Big Tech critics. In a

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YouTube Censors Abby Martin Interview Explaining Israeli Fascism in 28 Countries

YouTube’s recent move to block a video featuring a Jewish-American discussing Fascism in Israel from showing in 28 countries seems to have less to do with actual violations of law and more with the pressure brought by pro-Israeli interests.

Whitney Webb
By Whitney Webb
Israeli riot police aim their rifles at protesters outside of Jerusalem's Old City, July 28, 2017. (AP/Ariel Schalit)

MINNEAPOLIS – Amid efforts aimed at censoring independent media, internet giants like YouTube are now moving to censor information at the behest of local governments. Though the phenomenon is not new, it appears to be expanding, as shown by YouTube’s recent decision to block a video from the Empire Files, the teleSUR program hosted by journalist

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TeleSUR English’s Day in Facebook ‘Jail’ Raises Doubts About Silicon Valley Hospitality

Facebook periodically “tweaks” its algorithm in ways that severely reduce the prominence of alternative media content on newsfeeds, forcing admins to pay for “sponsored posts” in order to reach audiences.

Elliott Gabriel
By Elliott Gabriel
Facebook

QUITO, ECUADOR -- Facebook users who followed Latin American news outlet teleSUR English were confused on Tuesday when the fan page suffered a mysterious disappearance from the site that lasted nearly a full day. The page’s deletion and subsequent reemergence raised questions about potential censorship by the California-based social networking

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Venezuelan Opposition Threatens To Lynch American Journalist Abby Martin

The right-wing opposition of Venezuela has been caught endorsing and committing violent acts multiple times, despite claiming to be “peaceful.” Their latest targets include two U.S. journalists who have been threatened with lynching for their reporting on the ongoing chaos in Venezuela.

Whitney Webb
By Whitney Webb
Abby Martin interviews Venezuelan opposition protesters

The U.S.-backed right-wing opposition in Venezuela is consistently described as “peaceful,” protesting non-violently against the leftist regime of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who mainstream media throughout the Americas and the world consider an autocrat, or dictator who is hell-bent on accumulating more power. However, the Venezuelan

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Israel Bars American Journalist From Entering Gaza Citing ‘Pro-Palestinian Views’

While some media outlets have been able to access the strip, Israel has been known to place restrictions on representatives from critical media organizations wishing to enter Gaza.

teleSUR
By teleSUR
Head of Venezuela National Guard on Insurgency & US Threats

Abby Martin, host of teleSUR’s “The Empire Files,” has been accused by the head of Israel's foreign press office, Ron Paz, of not being a journalist because of her her pro-Palestinian views. “We took a look on your Twitter account too, just to get a sense of it,” Paz told Martin in an email Wednesday. “What we found can easily be labeled as pure

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