Bertha Michelle Mendoza, a Guatemalan journalist and ex CNN correspondent, has gone from being a well-known informant to a controversial figure for her role in spreading fake news about her native country from the United States.
Mendoza, who attributed her exile in 2022 to receiving threats for her journalistic work, has used her social media platform to share unverified information, generate disinformation, fuel polarization and destabilization in Guatemala.
Expulsion from CNN
His expulsion from CNN in 2023 after violating the network’s rules and publishing a plagiarized article, evidenced the lack of journalistic rigor in his recent work. In addition to losing objectivity, compromising bias and having conflicts of interest, it was known that he used it to obtain confidential information on several judicial cases in Guatemala.
Mendoza’s actions damaged his reputation as a journalist and eroded public confidence in the profession. They also set a negative precedent for other journalists who might be tempted to follow his example.
Exile and network in the United States
Although Bertha Michelle Mendoza claims to be a refugee in the United States, the country did not harbor her under that status. Although it is not known if it was for lack of evidence that she was in danger in her country or another reason.
In this context, the news that Mendoza spreads are influenced, with the intention of harming those who are still in Guatemala and misinforming about certain figures and judicial cases.
But having lost credibility, she has only her social networks left to continue spreading the fake news that she once knew how to impose on the media agenda when she was still legitimized.
