美国国家公共电台 NPR Amid Chaos Venezuelans Struggle To Find The Truth, Online

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Venezuelan media is controlled by the government. Figuring out what is truth, rumor¹, propaganda has always been difficult. In recent days, though, it's been even more confusing. President Nicolas Maduro has refused to cede² power to the opposition³ party. There have been widespread protests and looting. And the rumor mill continues to churn on social media. NPR's Jasmine Garsd reports.

JASMINE GARSD, BYLINE⁴: Javier Rojo (ph) owns a pharmacy⁵ in the capital city of Caracas. This week, as chaos⁶ took over the country, he gave his workers the day off, went home and turned on the TV - only to find nothing was being reported.

JAVIER ROJO: (Speaking Spanish).

GARSD: Rojo says right now people get their news on social media and WhatsApp. Professor Gregory Weeks teaches Latin American politics at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He says in Venezuela...

GREGORY WEEKS: Independent media has been gradually attacked and shut down over time so that, in general, social media becomes the means by which you learn what's going on on an ongoing⁷ basis.

GARSD: Back at his house, Rojo says he started getting messages on WhatsApp from one of his workers.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Speaking Spanish).

GARSD: "Tanks are rolling into the park," she says. "They're launching tear gas." She's one of his employees. He trusts her. But then he started getting WhatsApp voice messages from people he doesn't even know.

ROJO: (Speaking Spanish).

GARSD: One guy, who says his aunt's husband is a military officer - and he swears Nicolas Maduro has resigned. Rojo is getting bombarded by fake news and wild rumors⁸. And it's happening to a lot of people in the country. Professor Raisa Urribarri researches technology and politics at Universidad de Los Andes in Venezuela. She says it's hard to trace the origins of some messages. It can be panicked citizens or the opposition. The government has also gotten savvy⁹ at digital propaganda.

RAISA URRIBARRI: (Speaking Spanish).

GARSD: In the last few days, she says, there's been a wave of tweets in favor of the current regime - #ImWithMaduro - from many accounts she and her colleagues have traced back to Turkey, a country that has backed Maduro. It's not the first time social media has been caught up in international turmoil¹⁰. Last year, the military in Myanmar used Facebook to spread rumors about the Rohingya Muslim minority, eventually leading to atrocities¹¹. In Brazil's last presidential elections, misinformation about candidates spread like wildfire on WhatsApp. Just this week, WhatsApp announced it will no longer allow users to forward messages to more than five people. But professor Urribarri says Venezuelans have lived with fake news for so long, they've become smart news consumers. She points me to this trusted WhatsApp group.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Speaking Spanish).

GARSD: The audio bulletin is so low production it almost sounds fake. But it's a public information broadcast created by a group of Venezuelan journalists. Every few hours, they release audio which gets shared countless¹² times on Whatsapp, Facebook and Twitter.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Speaking Spanish).

GARSD: In this one broadcast, the announcer lists the neighborhoods and streets that have been experiencing violent clashes and looting. Follow us, he says. We are online. Jasmine Garsd, NPR News, New York.

1 rumor   

n.谣言，谣传，传说

参考例句：

• The rumor has been traced back to a bad man.那谣言经追查是个坏人造的。
• The rumor has taken air.谣言流传开了。

2 cede   

v.割让，放弃

参考例句：

• The debater refused to cede the point to her opponent.辩论者拒绝向她的对手放弃其主张。
• Not because I'm proud.In fact,in front of you I cede all my pride.这不是因为骄傲，事实上我在你面前毫无骄傲可言。

3 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 pharmacy   

n.药房，药剂学，制药业，配药业，一批备用药品

参考例句：

• She works at the pharmacy.她在药房工作。
• Modern pharmacy has solved the problem of sleeplessness.现代制药学已经解决了失眠问题。

6 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

7 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

8 rumors   

n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷

参考例句：

• Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 savvy   

v.知道，了解；n.理解能力，机智，悟性；adj.有见识的，懂实际知识的，通情达理的

参考例句：

• She was a pretty savvy woman.她是个见过世面的漂亮女人。
• Where's your savvy?你的常识到哪里去了？

10 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

11 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。