Efecto Cocuyo
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]
Owners
Funding[edit]
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[edit]
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]