CARACAS – Delegates from some 50 countries have launched a “Journalists’ Alliance for Communication of the Global South” at a forum in Caracas, aimed at countering what they described as Western media dominance and promoting alternative narratives.
The “Voices of the New World” (Voces del Nuevo Mundo) forum, which brought together more than 220 communicators, journalists, researchers and influencers, including a representative from Daily News Egypt, sought to promote a new international information order, defend truth as a right of the people and reaffirm support for the Palestinian cause.
According to its final declaration, the new alliance will be a “permanent space for action” to guarantee informational sovereignty, respect for cultural diversity and the integral development of nations.
“Peoples have the right to the truth. To live it, to tell it and to know it,” the declaration stated, adding that participants stressed the importance of truth in upholding values such as peace and equality, and proposed decolonising narratives that reflect the realities of the Global South.
In his welcome speech, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yván Gil said that in the face of the resurgence and domination of “media imperialism, our voices have to be increasingly stronger, more intense”. He called for an alliance between different platforms “so that we can tell the truth, so that our truth can be heard in the world”.
The forum, held in the Venezuelan capital from 29 to 31 July, included delegates from countries such as Brazil, Mexico, Iran, China, the United States, Spain, South Africa, Lebanon and Russia.
Throughout the event, speakers addressed topics including media manipulation, fake news and the concept of truth.
Venezuelan communicator and deputy Gustavo Villapol discussed the influence of algorithms on various communication platforms, which he said could leave lasting effects on users’ minds.
Russian speaker Daria Yuryeva highlighted the diminishing visibility of news websites in the face of the growing popularity of social media. She invited journalists to adapt to “the new reality” by studying algorithms and creating alternative platforms with democratic usage policies to avoid “restrictive measures imposed by a particular government or several governments against a specific media outlet”.
Brazilian political scientist Fernando Horta argued that “the Global South needs to develop its own form of social technology and control over technological means to confront the information and communication attacks that affect democracy”.
Another key speaker, Ayanda Hollow from South Africa, highlighted the importance of digital sovereignty. He argued that without their own digital platforms, Africa and the wider Global South could not achieve fully independent media, as the existing social media and algorithmic landscape is controlled by external entities. Hollow added that for Africa to accelerate this path in achieving sovereignty, it would need to optimise working in Solidarity with the Global South.
Echoing the focus on technology, Nonkululeko Patricia Mantula also from South Africa, focused on the role of media within the BRICS countries. In a discussion titled “Journalism within the BRICS countries”, she and other participants analysed the potential of media in the bloc to break from dominant narratives and promote effective cooperation to strengthen cultural and social ties.
Mantula called for the creation of media networks free from “colonial narratives”. She argued that mainstream media often generates disinformation by building an erroneous perception of a country’s reality. Using South Africa as an example, she said it is often wrongly associated only with poverty and underdevelopment. She advocated for a journalism committed to the people that promotes a more pluralistic worldview and counters such misconceptions.
She also called on the international community to develop an information network that transcends language barriers. “Take advantage of the tools of the digital era to tell the story through languages. Unity is very important; you have to rise above the influences of social media to generate an impact,” Mantula said.
Jiang Yan, director-general of the Latin America Regional Bureau of China’s Xinhua News Agency, said in a video message that the fight against disinformation is one of the “common challenges for the media and think tanks of the Global South,” adding that unity was the fundamental tool to face current challenges.
The final declaration stated that communicators denounced the “hegemony of large media consortiums” and digital platforms that distort popular struggles and perpetuate colonial narratives. “To respect and defend the truth, freedom of expression and the sovereign and independent development of our peoples is a duty for those of us who dedicate ourselves to journalism and communication with honesty,” it said.
The alliance aims to be a network for content exchange, joint training and the defence of journalists who are attacked. Attendees advocated for informational rigour, creativity and continuous training to confront censorship and the algorithmic control of digital platforms, and highlighted the need to develop “sovereign digital tools” that promote liberating communication.
The forum also strongly reaffirmed its commitment to the Palestinian cause, denouncing narratives that it said make the struggles of oppressed peoples invisible.
At the closing ceremony, the president of Venezuela’s National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, addressed the issue. “The worst crime perpetrated on humanity in the 21st century is the extermination and genocide of Gaza,” he said.
Rodríguez added: “The objective of the Nazism in the government of Netanyahu is to strip away the human condition, to eliminate the condition of human beings in order to then subdue them as if they were beasts.”
“What a shame for all of humanity that Benjamin Netanyahu exists, it is a shame for all of us (…) it is a shame for us human beings that there is a being devoid of humanity who is not only a murderer, not only a genocidaire, but also a cynic!” he said.
Rodríguez also reiterated the position of the Venezuelan state, saying that “North American imperialism is a true danger to the human species”.
