 Motto: Noticias parciales y sin veracidad a manos de un roedor con peos psicológicos (Spanish:Biased and untruthful news at the hands of a rodent with psychological issues) | |
Type of site | Satire,political humor |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Venezuela |
| URL | elchiguirebipolar |
| Launched | 15 May 2008; 17 years ago (2008-05-15) |
| Current status | Active |
El Chigüire Bipolar (English:The Bipolar Capybara) is acomedic journalism andnews satire portal, launched on 15 May 2008 by the Venezuelans Elio Casale, Oswaldo Graziani, andJuan Andrés Ravell, who are also the creators of the animated seriesLa isla presidencial.[1] The website and its creators belong to the media group Plop Media, based inCaracas andMiami.[2]
The website initially became popular for mockingHugo Chávez[3] — by 2010, it was already surpassing main national news outlets in terms of views[4] — though is also liked for its satirising of opposition politicians and regular Venezuelans alike,[2] and has been compared to the similar American websiteThe Onion.[3] In 2018, Ravell said that it was "a stretch" to suggest that the website provided hope with their humour, but that he hoped they could "bridge a gap with thecensorship that's happening on TV and radio".[2] Since 2014, the website has co-produced the comedic TV news show "Weekly Report", hosted byJosé Rafael Briceño, withVIVOplay.[5]
In 2013,Henrique Capriles denounced that an upper-level high school textbook on contemporary history included a satirical cover of newspaperEl Nacional that was created byEl Chigüire Bipolar, representing the Chávez-led1992 coup attempts. At least 26 people had developed the textbook, which was approved by the Education Minister, with 400,000 copies printed.[6]
In 2016, the BBC praised the website for exploiting national blackouts "for all of their comedic potential", compared to other newspapers and even the popularinternet memes shared onsocial media in the country, including fake articles like reporting on how Venezuelans have developednight vision, sharing a humorous pseudo-government-proposed daily routine, and celebrating the blackouts for their reprieve fromcompulsory broadcasts (cadenas).[7]
El Chigüire Bipolar was a winner of theVáclav Havel Prize for Creative Dissent in 2017, together with the Zimbabwean activist and playwright Silvanos Mudzvov and the Bahraini poet and activistAyat Al-Qurmezi, presented at the 2017Oslo Freedom Forum. According toGarry Kasparov, secretary of theHuman Rights Foundation, "their crude humor and rigorous analysis demonstrates the great power that satire has in the present to criticize authoritarian regimes".[8]
In May 2017, the team ofEl Chigüire Bipolar wasJuan Andrés Ravell, Graziani, Casale, Jesús Roldán, Víctor Medina, Christopher Andrade, and Daniel Pérez.[9] In 2018, Ravell said that the website had five full-time staff members, and a further five part-time staff.[2]