Jazmín Acuña

Jazmín’s transformative approach to journalism in Paraguay redefines the role of reporters by integrating audiences into the news-making process. This collaborative model turns the audience from passive recipients into active participants, and in turn, creates relevant and engaging reports that inspire communities to act, making the audience an essential part of the journalistic journey.

Jazmín believes that to combat the growing problem of misinformation and the lack of trust in journalism, the profession must evolve beyond merely informing the public. Operating under the slogan, “We provide accurate, challenging, and beautiful information so you can connect with others and take action,” Jazmín strives to build a renewed journalism that helps communities to actively participate in the protection of their rights, in an increasingly complex, challenging, and information-saturated world.

Jazmín’s approach views journalists and audiences as joint civic activators. To get to that point, Jazmín works in-depth on a new approach to journalism based on the ethics of care and the concept that journalists are part of the community they serve. Quality relations between journalists and citizens are cultivated by close peer-to-peer communications, building confidence and mutual respect that enables them to co-create content and work together on the changes that impact communities’ most urgent needs.

Jazmín’s organization, El Surtidor, reports on complex phenomena in a simple and engaging manner, prioritizing process-oriented journalism. Contrary to mainstream news media, El Surtidor is not focused on the top trending topics that cover most headlines or on being the first to tell the news; instead, they strive to serve their audience, helping them better understand the direct implications of issues that affect them and encouraging them to act equipped with solid information. To achieve this, Jazmín combines rigorous reporting with visual language that highlights the power of illustration and sound, creating new ways of connecting with information that acknowledges and harnesses the reach of online platforms. She and her team pay careful attention to both content and form, aiming to evoke emotions that inspire action.

To bring their principles and methods to life, Jazmín and her team experiment with creative ways to engage people and target audiences in news making. In one example of how El Surtidor works with communities, Jazmín and her team set up a newsroom in the neighborhood to present the findings of their investigations and promote community organization to stop the construction of new gas stations in an overcrowded city. Additionally, during election times, they made an open call to communities to fact-check, in real-time, information relevant to the presidential debate that was being shared, recruiting more than 100 professional volunteers such as sociologists, journalists, and political scientists who remain involved with El Surtidor. They have also connected scientists with delivery workers to report the effects of climate change on health backed by scientific measures developed in collaboration.

Recently, Jazmin started to expand her efforts throughout the region. Their initiative, Latinográficas, is a collaborative and educational program dedicated to excellence in journalism across Latin America and a space for the diffusion of Jazmin’s approach. This professional training goes beyond El Surtidor’s editorial, playing an important role in the region. Over three rounds, it has brought together more than 500 colleagues from 20 countries through online seminars and production scholarships to learn and replicate Jazmín’s approach.

The takeover of mass media by political power in Paraguay, coupled with the opacity of social media platform algorithms in a country with one of the worst educational systems in the region (according to the PISA evaluation 2022, Paraguay was among the four countries with the worst performance in the region), creates an environment ripe for the spread of disinformation for political and economic purposes. Over the past decade, a concerning trend has emerged: political power is steadily advancing over the media. Just four business conglomerates control the majority of media outlets, including television, radio, print, and digital media. These groups hold significant stakes across various sectors, including agribusiness, finance, land ownership, fuel distribution, and pharmaceuticals. Their substantial economic and media influence plays a crucial role in shaping public opinion and swaying governmental decisions.

The political capture of the media is mainly represented by former president and current ruling party leader Horacio Cartes, whom the U.S. government has sanctioned for his links to corruption and international terrorism. With approximately 70% ownership of the media, Cartes exerts substantial control over the narrative and information disseminated in the country. This situation is alarming, as no politician in Paraguay’s democratic history has wielded such overwhelming power over information channels.

This information manipulation peaked during the 2023 General Elections, where numerous strategies were employed to saturate and polarize the electoral campaign. The strategic and malicious use of disinformation worsened dissatisfaction with the role of the media in a significant portion of the population that already did not trust media. This rapidly spreading issue affects journalism and democracy in Paraguay, eroding public trust in the media and hindering informed citizen participation. Although disinformation has always existed, its reach and diffusion speed have been drastically amplified by the rise of digital technologies and social networks.

Paraguayo Cubas, an “anti-system” presidential candidate, unexpectedly secured a strong third place in the elections. Dissatisfied, he used social media to propagate conspiracy theories about electoral fraud and, utilizing fake information, incited nationwide protests that sometimes turned violent, including attacks on journalists. This was the first documented instance of election disputes driven by disinformation in the region, and similar cases are expected to rise as distrust in journalism grows and social media amplifies these issues.

In this context, the needs, demands, and aspirations of a significant portion of the population—predominantly young people— such as climate change, power dynamics, gender issues, and human rights, are sidelined from the news agenda. They are also at risk of falling prey to manipulation in the digital realm. Religious groups are also very influential in the educational sector, spreading misinformation related to sexual and reproductive health. The loss of trust in journalism, widespread disinformation on platforms, and information saturation jeopardize citizens’ relationships with institutions and undermine the traditional role of journalists in holding power accountable, thereby affecting democracy in Paraguay and the region.

In the media sector, there is often a limited understanding or ineffective approach to combating mis/disinformation within newsrooms, which delays solutions to the problem. Online fact-checking has been one attempted solution, but its success is limited. This is mainly because mis/disinformation often manipulates emotions and narratives that are difficult to counter with verified facts alone. An overlooked fact in this regard is that people tend to accept and share information that aligns with their pre-existing beliefs, values, and information without verifying its accuracy. Journalists often offer rational solutions to problems highly driven by emotions. In this environment, people are overwhelmed with information and increasingly disinterested in traditional media, especially younger audiences. While disinformation spreads rapidly and with little resistance, an honest effort to understand reality requires time, space, and careful methodology and new roles for professional journalists to face uncertain, diverse and complex societies.

Democracy and journalism are inseparable. Based on her firm conviction in this interdependence, Jazmín rebuilds the fundamental value of this connection and redesigns the role of journalists to not only report events but also to contribute to community welfare through well-informed change-making. To achieve this, she co-founded El Surtidor, an informative platform that began as a Facebook page and quickly became a recognized leader in new journalism in Latin America. El Surti, as followers affectionately call it, practices process-oriented journalism that connects community issues and changemaking capabilities with broader news and development agendas such as inequality, the climate crisis, and disinformation. Journalists become key actors who contribute to developing and understanding information and the complex contexts in which it is developed.

El Surtidor’s journalistic work promotes a new role for journalists and communities. First, they seek to reestablish trust with their audiences, fostering horizontal and close relationships with sources and readers, especially with vulnerable groups such as impoverished communities, low-income workers, and young people. With this tactic, El Surtidor’s journalists distance themselves from the transactional relationship typical of traditional media, in which affected people are seen as informants only, often reinforcing distrust because people do not perceive the impact of journalistic work in their daily struggles. Through an ethics of care championed by El Surtidor, journalists are seen as part of the community who share values and concerns rather than external narrators. This closeness is enhanced by managing spaces and activities that deepen relationships with readers and followers throughout the information production process. These include live fact-checking with audience members, collaborative content and agenda creation, thematic communities, and assemblies for presenting research findings. Jazmín also promotes the continuous specialization of journalists, allowing them to train, gain expertise, and gather resources on their focus topics.

El Surtidor distinguishes itself through a methodology that strongly emphasizes the impact of information and the importance of people engaging in change. Visual language is pivotal and a hallmark of El Surtidor’s journalism, crucial for connecting with its primary audience: young people. They employ various visual tools to simplify and present complex information in attractive formats that reflect social processes, not just isolated facts. To ensure the information reaches relevant communities, El Surtidor begins its journalistic process by mapping key actors involved in the topic under investigation, who then actively participate in disseminating the findings. They utilize an Impact Map to gauge the significance of the information and achieve the desired influence, shaping El Surti’s narrative to mobilize action effectively.

Jazmín emphasizes that ensuring information has a meaningful impact requires reaching the right audience. Therefore, distribution efforts are targeted specifically at identified actors and communities to foster action and change, rather than pursuing mass distribution. This approach recognizes four key stages in civic engagement among its recipients, each representing a progressive commitment: disseminate, inform, involve, and activate. These stages are implemented through various strategies, such as presenting findings at meetings with interested organizations from diverse sectors, hosting civic town halls to facilitate dialogue between residents and authorities, and conducting open editorials where 30 audience members participate in previews of upcoming research.

Within their impact and influence methodology, El Surtidor has developed five levels to assess how information mobilizes citizen action and translates into social impact. These five levels serve as the framework for evaluating the impact of their efforts:

1. Informed Communities: Identifying when groups of people become informed about a new problem or potential solution.
2. Community Engagement: Recognizing when individuals and communities agree on the need to address a particular problem and its potential solutions.
3. Increased Civic Action: Observing communities initiating civic actions to enhance visibility and address the problem.
4. Accountability of Authorities: Noting when authorities are held publicly accountable due to civic actions driven by quality information.
5. Institutional Changes: Documenting concrete changes at the systemic or institutional level resulting from civic actions informed by quality information.

Jazmín’s five-step methodology can be seen through the multiple social issues they have tackled. For example, El Surtidor’s investigation into the proliferation of gas stations in Asunción exemplifies the way in which they are redesigning journalism. They identified this as a social issue early on and conducted extensive research involving residents and specialists. Their findings, revealing environmental regulation violations and health risks, were shared at a community center where neighbors, environmentalists and interested people exchanged opinions, proposed new sources and contributed their perspectives to the topic, feeling heard and invited to be a part of the work, and reached 400,000 people via social media, sparking national media coverage. This led to the formation of “Vecinas y vecinos por el medioambiente” (Neighbors for the Environment in English), involving 300 individuals who delved into the issue and discussed solutions. Subsequently, three organized groups emerged, advocating for change. As a result, municipal and judicial authorities publicly addressed the issue, blocked the installation of new gas stations for at least five years, and delivered proposals for new regulations to control the proliferation of projects that directly affect neighborhoods.

As with each piece of research and editorial work in El Surtidor, this case show how journalism’s role and its relationship with audiences can evolve with an impact-focused methodology and a care-centered ethic towards affected groups. Jazmín and her team designed an impact map to guide content distribution and identified key societal actors as target audiences. This approach ensured the story continued beyond its initial publication, supporting audience members who organized to address the issue. Jazmín and her team facilitated their connections, reported on their protests and meetings, and kept the community informed about setbacks and progress within various branches of the state activated in response to the phenomenon. Journalists, traditionally seen as ‘watchdogs’ of the truth, also acted as ‘guide dogs,’ helping audiences connect and act while maintaining constant communication. This approach led to increased trust in their work, with both neighbors and council members regularly providing information and amplifying El Surti’s publications. Their efforts were publicly recognized on several occasions.

In 2019, El Surtidor investigated how the civic organization Decisiones misused public funds to spread misinformation about sex education, HIV, and the LGBTQI population to nearly 20,000 students nationwide. The investigation garnered widespread media attention and provoked reactions from elected officials and the educational community. In response, student groups and civil society organizations continued demanding truthful information regarding sexual education issues in public education. Months later, due to exposure and citizenship accountability, Decisiones declined new funding allocated by Congress. In 2020, during the pandemic, El Surtidor adapted quickly, building on the network they had created during the investigation to produce 87 podcast episodes to counter COVID-19 misinformation, launch a vaccine distribution monitoring panel, and investigate the use of crisis funds, among other local and regional initiatives.

The same journalistic approach is applied across every production and investigation at El Surtidor. For instance, during the coverage of the 2023 General Elections, this approach culminated in the publication of "Ruido," the first study on the characteristics and social impact of disinformation in Paraguay. The findings were presented at a town hall attended by community members and authorities. They also sent copies to deputies and senators, which were very well received. A senator used data from the book to justify a declaration project against gender violence, two other senators also used data from the book in public sessions of Congress to raise awareness about disinformation campaigns with political purposes, and the president of the Superior Electoral Court publicly praised the book and used some of its findings in a presentation on elections in Paraguay. Her work influenced the subsequent presidential election in her country by compelling candidates to address the issues highlighted by her publication.

Through investigations, journalistic productions, and social media, El Surtidor serves a community of 400,000 people each month. It is also a part of the larger non-profit organization Memetic Media, co-founded by Jazmín. The organization sustains itself and El Surtidor through local and international fundraising efforts, storytelling fees for service (through La Fábrica, their self-funding division for spreading Jazmin’s methodology) and editorial design, campaigns, partnerships with other media and organizations, and journalism production scholarships.

To spread her work, Jazmín and her team documented their methodology that provides a roadmap for successful implementation so that reporters and community work hand in hand and contribute to deeper and more transparent journalism, either by El Surti or through local journalists across Latin America. She has already established a community of aligned journalists, Latinográficas, with 500 journalists from 20 countries participating in online seminars, with her methodologies and tools, that continues to grow. Jazmin has received two years of new funding from the International Center for Journalists, Google News Initiative, and Open Society Foundation to develop additional tools and techniques to deepen, broaden, and train others in her pathbreaking efforts.

Jazmín’s work to build a new kind of relationship between journalism and the surrounding community has touched a number of vital conversations for Paraguay – the environment, health, and the country’s democratic elections. With local communities feeling a part of setting the agenda, she is compelling journalism to tell the stories that matter most. With her work now expanding into a broader, collaborative space across the region, she sees that, rather than establishing new ‘El Surtis’ in each country, she will extend her influence by equipping and empowering key journalists to amplify her impact.

Jazmín grew up in a town deep in Paraguay’s countryside, over 100 km far from the capital. Inspired by her mother’s love of reading, she developed a curiosity and rebellious spirit that defined her entrepreneurial path. After several unsuccessful attempts at scholarship competitions, she finally won a full scholarship to study in the United States at eighteen. This experience broadened her perspective on learning freely, appreciating knowledge beyond its practical applications, and deepening her understanding of truth and consensus in society.

After completing her undergraduate degree, Jazmín sought to understand how her country addressed the legacy of Stroessner’s dictatorship. This quest led her to South Africa, where she studied how the country confronted institutionalized racism and apartheid violence. For her graduate thesis, she focused on the media’s role in narrating the processes of justice and reconciliation to the public, which introduced her to the inner workings of a newsroom. This experience was pivotal in her understanding of how the media contributes to establishing foundational understandings of the past.

After completing her education with honors and receiving recognition for the best thesis at her university’s School of Government, Jazmín returned to her country. She co-founded Public Television, the nation’s first media outlet to champion diverse voices. Later, amid political turmoil, she left and co-founded Tedic, a pioneering organization defending human rights online. Tedic successfully halted legislation permitting state surveillance of digital communications through a humor-infused social media campaign, demonstrating Jazmín’s belief in the internet’s potential for journalism and the power of humor to engage audiences.

In 2016, Jazmín co-founded El Surtidor to provide essential information to thousands of young people in a language and style they can relate to. Since its inception, El Surtidor has garnered significant regional recognition, winning prestigious awards such as the first Gabriel García Márquez Award for Paraguay in 2018 and the Ortega y Gasset Award for Best Investigative Journalism in 2020. Jazmín has also served as a panelist at the International Press Institute in 2022 and participated in the Reuters Institute’s Global Journalism Series, among other platforms.

Despite these accolades, Jazmín values the credibility and trust established with their community of over 400,000 members above all. She emphasizes that the true measure of success lies in their ability to deliver stories that inspire societal change and mobilize their audience towards meaningful action every day that ultimately changes their lives.