Colombia Reports

{{Short description|Colombian online newspaper in English}} {{Infobox website | name = Colombia Reports | foundation = {{Start date and age|2008}} | founder = Adriaan Alsema | location_city = Medellín | location_country = Colombia | area_served = | key_people = Adriaan Alsema, Editor-in-Chief<br />Jenifer Rivera, coordinator | num_employees = <10 | url = {{url|https://colombiareports.com}} | website_type = News | language = English | advertising = Yes | registration = Optional | launch_date = {{Start date and age|2008}} | current_status = Active }}

'''Colombia Reports''' is a Colombian online newspaper in English, founded in 2008 by Dutch journalist Adriaan Alsema and headquartered in Medellín. The organization claims to be independent and not affiliated with any political or social organization. <ref>{{cite web|title=About Colombia Reports|url=https://colombiareports.com/about-colombia-reports/|accessdate=21 October 2023}}</ref>

==History==

The site started "as a weblog just to bring Colombian news in English in a way it wasn’t being brought."<ref name="rodas">{{cite web|last=Rodas|first=Albeiro|title=Colombia reports for Good-Looking Intellectuals|url=http://albeiror24.wordpress.com/2009/06/16/colombia-reports-for-good-looking-intellectuals/|publisher=Colombia Passport|accessdate=15 April 2013|date=16 June 2009|archive-date=25 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140925201717/http://albeiror24.wordpress.com/2009/06/16/colombia-reports-for-good-looking-intellectuals/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Alsema stated in a 2009 interview that "even though Colombia is one of the most important countries for U.S. foreign policy in Latin America, the information available to those that don’t speak Spanish was very limited."

On February 26, 2014, Colombia Reports received angel funding from GITP Ventures<ref name=Facebook>{{cite web|title=Colombia Reports Raises Funding from GITP Ventures|url=http://lavca.org/2014/02/26/colombia-reports-raises-funding-from-gitp-ventures/|date=26 February 2014|accessdate=30 September 2014}}</ref> in order to more aggressively expand the company's offerings in the marketplace.<ref>{{cite web|title=GITP – Colombia Reports Announcement Party|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvXPbQ1zOkU|accessdate=30 September 2014|date=8 March 2014}}</ref> GITP Ventures and Colombia Reports parted ways on February 9, 2016, with Alsema stating in an editorial "that running a news website almost automatically creates conflicts with the economic interests of investors".<ref>{{cite web|title=Independent again, Colombia Reports celebrates 8th anniversary|url=https://colombiareports.com/on-colombia-reports-birthday-we-again-celebrate-independence/|accessdate=15 September 2016|date=9 February 2016}}</ref>

In April 2015, Colombia Reports' editor-in-chief Adriaan Alsema published a series of articles claiming that between 2003 and 2007, US military personnel and contractors had sexually abused many Colombian children. By June 2015, it was discovered that the source for these articles was faulty and Alsema was forced to retract those stories, expressing regret that he "felt responsible for having spread an urban myth".<ref>{{cite web|title=Worse Than Nothing|url=http://www.wnyc.org/story/worse-nothing|publisher=WYNC|accessdate=15 September 2016|date=5 June 2015}}</ref>

The website switched to a voluntary reader contribution model on May 17, 2017, in order to finance the website.<ref>{{cite web|title=Colombia Reports: a readers’ handbook|url=https://colombiareports.com/colombia-reports-readers-handbook/|accessdate=1 November 2016|date=17 May 2017}}</ref>

== Editorial board == Alsema uses crowd sourcing for his editorial board, using a Facebook page<ref>{{Cite web|title=Colombia Reports {{!}} Editorial board|url=https://www.facebook.com/groups/colombiareports/|access-date=2020-07-31|website=www.facebook.com|language=en}}</ref> where people can suggest edits. This ensures that the public assists in the fact-checking of the articles as well as the fact that spelling errors are quickly updated.

== References == {{reflist}}

== External links == *[https://colombiareports.com/ Colombia Reports]

Category:Colombian news websites Category:Mass media in Medellín