Between Wednesday, January 11, and Friday, January 14, journalist Carolina Briceño Peña, professionally known as Carola Briceño, became the target of a defamation campaign across Instagram, Twitter, and various digital platforms. This occurred after an investigation into Santiago José and Ricardo José Morón Hernández, who are reportedly linked to the government, was published in the El Nacional portal on Tuesday, January 10, as reported by the Institute of Press and Society of Venezuela (IPYS).
On January 11, a note published on a site called Los Benjamins, without providing evidence, accuses Briceño of leading an extortion network against business owners and politicians, involving a marketing and advertising agency run together with her daughter, Bárbara De Jesús Briceño, and her son-in-law, Carlos Alejandro Ortiz.
The allegations were also circulated by other platforms, including the website DolarToday —where the article was removed, but is still accessible via the cache— and the Instagram account @losbenjamins_ve. Additionally, the campaign was echoed by other anonymous profiles on the same social network and Twitter, with claims that the information was “revealed” by a supposed newspaper named Acontecer Latinoamericano. However, an internet search for that name yields no results from any media outlet.
Two days later, on January 13, a website called Mega Tubazos published a note claiming to have received screenshots of payments made by individuals to Workamedia, the marketing agency managed by the journalist’s daughter and son-in-law.
Briceño clarified to IPYS Venezuela that she is not part of Workamedia. “I haven’t spoken to my daughter in two and a half years (…). But I know she would never becapable of extorting anyone,” the communicator stated.
Continue reading at IPYS