Efecto Cocuyo
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 | |
| Owners | Laura Weffer, Luz Mely Reyes y Josefina Ruggiero |
|---|---|
| URL | Official website  |
| Launched | 2015 |
| Current status | Online |
Efecto Cocuyo (English: Firefly Effect) is a Venezuelan journalism outlet devoted to independent media.[1] The website was co-founded in January 2015 by Laura Weffer, former director of Venezuelan newspaper Diario 2001, Luz Mely Reyes, and Josefina Ruggiero, former content director of Cadena Capriles— award-winning journalists.[1][2]
As a response to censorship in Venezuela, alternate media began to emerge.[3][4] Following the resignation of Laura Weffer due to issues with her newspaper's coverage of the 2014 Venezuelan protests, and an arraignment of Luz Mely Reyes by the Venezuelan government following a report about gasoline shortages in Venezuela, the two began to plan a new project.[1] Their plan included the involvement of aspiring journalists and helping them grow their talents through the pair's "veteran experience".[1] Mely Reyes said that the project grew out of "the need for many to receive accurate, timely and transparent information".[2] Univision stated that with the loss of independent media in Venezuela, the creation of Efecto Cocuyo began to "illuminate" the country again.[4]
On 8 January 2015, Efecto Cocuyo sent out its first tweet and received 12,000 followers on Twitter two days later.[1][2] On 15 January, they announced the construction of their website after they found a local website developer and a location for a small office.[1][2] As of March 2015, Efecto Cocuyo had about 40,000 Twitter followers.[1]
On 12 September 2019, the outlet won the Human Rights award from the Washington Office on Latin America for their continued coverage of the Crisis in Venezuela.[5]
Funding
The website initially received funding through public donations and crowdfunding in 2015, with its founders seen on the streets in Venezuela asking for support.[1][4][6] Efecto Cocuyo has since been funded by international organizations and refuses to identify its monetary sources.[7] In a WhatDoTheyKnow freedom of information request in February 2019, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom acknowledged funding Efecto Cocuyo.[8] Funding received goes to new-hire reporters and towards "breaking-news analysis, investigative reports and comprehensive content about crucial information".[1]
In popular culture
In cartoons depicting censorship in Venezuela and the Venezuelan government's purchase of media organizations, the owners of Efecto Cocuyo have been depicted as combating such actions; these cartoons were printed in Mexican newspapers Reforma, Mural, El Norte and about 50 other publications in the country.[9]
