Canal RCN, the TV network that on Friday misled a global audience into believing two Dutch journalists had been released by ELN guerrillas in Colombia, is also tied to paramilitary death squads.
The two Dutch journalists were ultimately released around midnight local time, hours after the TV network had falsely claimed the release it failed to retract.
The misinformation the world witnessed on Friday, has been common practice in Colombia for years and is just the tip of the iceberg of RCN’s violations of journalistic ethics and even alleged collusion with paramilitary death squads that victimized hundreds of thousands of Colombians.
How this feels
Top Colombia TV network compromised over paramilitary support claims
Tragically, RCN’s repugnant approach to journalism is common in Colombia, which has been polarized to the point of armed conflict for more than half a century and currently has to find justice and a future for some 7 million war victims.
Colombia’s media, and in particular RCN, have played a key role in the victimization of more than 14% of the country’s population, and — as Friday’s incident demonstrated to a global audience — continues to do so shamelessly.
A recent linguistics study showed that Colombia’s general public have a severely distorted perception of reality due to the consistent misinformation reported by the country’s mass media.
How Colombia’s newspapers consistently misinformed the public on the armed conflict
In the case of Canal RCN, and in particular news director Claudia Gurisatti, the situation is even worse.
They’re tied to drug-trafficking paramilitary groups that have murdered, raped and displaced countless Colombians, allegedly in complicity with the TV station and Gurisatti.
The former leader of the AUC, the paramilitary umbrella organization guilty of tens of thousands of war crimes, testified under oath that the TV channel had been “complacent with the paramilitary actions” for an interview with the late AUC founder Carlos Castaño in which he was portrayed as “the leader of the fight against subversion.”
Peace and Justice Tribunal
The additional issue with RCN is that it is only one of two private television networks available for all households. Any other canal would require cable, which many Colombians can not afford.
According to the court, Gurisatti and RCN “helped provide the AUC with an ideological impulse” that justified the killing of thousands.
When in 2,000 Gurisatti on national television was giving AUC founder Carlos Castaño a journalistic blowjob, his organization was committing one massacre every two days.
Had it not been for the terrorism apologist / news director, Colombia’s ongoing peace process would be years and much less deaths ahead already, and my colleagues possibly wouldn’t even have been held hostage.
Nevertheless, RCN has expressed no interest admitting its responsibility in its key role in the violence that has tormented Colombia for more than half a century, but under increased popular and judicial pressure.
One of its main TV hosts, Felipe Arias, received major criticism as last week after claiming media “are not to inform or anything. It’s just to make money.”
Colombia news anchor scorned after claiming media ‘are not to inform or anything’
Journalists are supposed to maintain strict standards separating commercial or political interests from their journalistic activities exactly to prevent misinformation.
In the case of RCN this is particularly urgent as its sister company, Incauca, has been accused of assassinating an indigenous leader as recent as this year.
Other companies belonging to RCN boss Carlos Ardila Lulle, are facing multiple accusations of supporting a group that was killing Colombians by the thousands.
A transitional court that is part of Colombia’s peace process will be in force within months. For the sake of a peaceful and well-informed Colombia, I hope RCN will be among the first to be called to trial. I humbly urge the international community and the organizations involved in the process to make sure this happens.