Transnational Media Blackout

That same week in New York, home to one of the largest Dominican communities abroad, right-wing nationalists held a press conference calling to boycott the annual National Dominican Day parade under the grounds that Haitian nationals were supposedly invited to march. The group used racial and xenophobic language to turn Dominicans against their Haitian neighbors and relatives and cast suspicion on the parade organizers.

The Dominican media orchestrated attacks on an apolitical, cultural event where many nationalities march in unison to celebrate the diversity of New York and the Dominican community.

The Dominican mainstream media, which knows no boundaries, continued its media blackout or irresponsible journalistic coverage by propagating lies about the National Dominican Day Parade in New York. According to the major news outlets such as Listín Diario and El Caribe, the parade failed, as they claimed it was not well-attended due to the “success” of the boycott. Listín’s headline read, “Parada Dominicana en NY fracasa” (Dominican Parade in NY Fails) while El Caribe’s headline read,“Baja asistencia en la ‘Parada Dominicana’” (Low Attendance at the Dominican Parade). According to the negative articles that attempt to discredit the parade and its organizers, their falsely claimed “failure” is attributed to the “boycott” that the Instituto Duartiano and other organizations such as Agenda Dominicana called upon in a press conference that took place three days prior to the parade.