The Costa Rica Star

The Costa Rica Star is an English-language online news publication focused on Costa Rica and the wider Central American region. It was founded in December 2011 by a Canadian citizen who was living in Costa Rica as a full-time legal resident. The site began publishing at a time when Costa Rica had a sizable English-speaking expatriate population but relatively few locally focused English-language news outlets. Its editorial emphasis consequently developed around providing local news, public-affairs reporting, crime and security coverage, environmental stories, tourism-related information, and explanatory context for foreign residents and visitors. The publication’s principal audience has been English-speaking expatriates, particularly people living in the Central Valley and Guanacaste. Rather than operating primarily as a conventional print newspaper, The Costa Rica Star has functioned as a digital publication, distributing articles through its website and social-media channels. Its Facebook presence had reportedly exceeded 90,000 followers by January 2020, indicating a substantial reach among readers interested in Costa Rican affairs. The site’s reporting model has often involved translating, adapting, and contextualizing material originally reported by Spanish-language Costa Rican media, including Costa Rica Hoy and La Nación. Articles commonly provide background intended to help foreign readers understand local institutions, legal rules, public safety issues, and regional events. The publication has also linked to original reporting and other reference materials, and it has invited contributions from citizen journalists through a submission or registration process. The Costa Rica Star gained visibility through coverage of internationally recognizable subjects connected to Costa Rica or Central America. Its reporting on the 2012 arrest of Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson in Germany developed into sustained coverage that included comments from Watson, communications issued by Sea Shepherd, and responses from an international whale-protection organization. The publication also regularly covered drug-interdiction operations. In 2013, it reported on the transfer of a large quantity of seized cocaine from Costa Rica to the United States for destruction and on a U.S. naval operation involving the seizure of cocaine from a Costa Rican-flagged fishing vessel near the Galápagos Islands. The outlet has also undertaken reporting with international political implications. In 2016, following requests from Canadian media, it investigated Costa Rican property holdings associated with Brian Pallister, then a Canadian opposition politician. Its findings were subsequently cited by Canadian media during scrutiny of Pallister’s time spent in Costa Rica and his disclosures concerning local real estate. The publication has received attention from international and regional media and organizations, including El Financiero, The Times of Israel, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, BBC News, Quartz, and UNESCO. Its history also includes a notable editorial controversy in 2014, when it published an outdated and inaccurate article concerning possible changes to Costa Rica’s rules for perpetual tourism. After readers challenged the article, the publication said that it had been used as a social experiment about misinformation. The episode generated criticism and a reader-led effort to discourage advertising on the site. Publicly available reference material does not establish the publication’s current ownership, corporate structure, headquarters, financial performance, or senior management.

The Costa Rica Star was established in December 2011 as an online English-language publication in Costa Rica. According to the publication’s About page, its founder was a Canadian citizen residing in Costa Rica as a full-time legal resident. The outlet’s early coverage included an article about the death of British author and political thinker Christopher Hitchens on 15 December 2011. The publication developed around the needs of Costa Rica’s English-speaking expatriate population, with particular attention to residents of the Central Valley and Guanacaste. Its coverage has extended across local politics, crime, public security, tourism, immigration, environmental issues, conservation, and regional affairs. The site has generally presented Costa Rican events in English for readers who may not follow Spanish-language media directly. A recurring feature of its editorial approach has been the adaptation of reporting from Costa Rican Spanish-language outlets. The publication has added explanatory material for expatriates and international readers and has frequently directed readers toward source reports or additional references. It has also invited citizen journalists to contribute through an online signup process. This approach positioned the site between a conventional translated newspaper and a locally oriented expatriate information service. The Costa Rica Star attracted wider attention through stories with international significance. In 2012, it extensively covered the German arrest of Paul Watson, founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. The coverage included comments attributed to Watson, press material from Sea Shepherd, and a response from another whale-protection organization. The publication also established a regular focus on the regional war on drugs. Its 2013 reporting covered a large cocaine shipment transported from Costa Rica to the United States for destruction and a U.S. naval seizure involving a Costa Rican-flagged fishing vessel near the Galápagos Islands. One detail in the latter report was disputed by the U.S. Embassy, although the publication cited shipping records and Costa Rican enforcement reports in support of its account. The outlet faced a significant credibility controversy in early 2014. It published an outdated and inaccurate story claiming that Costa Rica was preparing changes to its perpetual-tourism rules. The story circulated among expatriates and caused confusion before its age and inaccuracies became apparent. The publication said that the article had been intentionally used as a social experiment demonstrating how misinformation can spread. That explanation did not satisfy all readers, and one reader organized a petition seeking an advertising boycott. In April 2016, the publication conducted an investigation into Costa Rican property holdings linked to Brian Pallister, then a prominent Manitoba conservative politician. The investigation found that a holding company associated with Pallister held three properties in the Tamarindo area of Guanacaste. Canadian media later cited the work while examining questions about Pallister’s time in Costa Rica and his public statements concerning local business or property ownership. The Costa Rica Star’s work has been referenced or discussed by El Financiero, The Times of Israel, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, BBC News, Quartz, and UNESCO, including in connection with its reporting on International Jazz Day in 2012. Its Facebook page reportedly had more than 90,000 followers by January 2020. Available reference material does not identify a current editor, corporate parent, owner, headquarters address, revenue figures, or formal corporate listing status.

• 2016

  Pallister property investigation

  [1]The Costa Rica Staren.wikipedia.org

  The publication investigated Costa Rican property holdings associated with Manitoba politician Brian Pallister; Canadian media later cited the reporting.

• 2014

  Perpetual-tourism article controversy

  [1]The Costa Rica Staren.wikipedia.org

  An outdated and inaccurate article about Costa Rican tourism rules led to reader criticism and a proposed advertising boycott.

• 2013

  Expanded drug-interdiction reporting

  [1]The Costa Rica Staren.wikipedia.org

  The outlet reported on a cocaine airlift from Costa Rica to the United States and a U.S. naval seizure near the Galápagos Islands.

• 2012

  Paul Watson arrest coverage

  [1]The Costa Rica Staren.wikipedia.org

  The publication began extensive reporting on Paul Watson's arrest in Germany and published related statements and responses.

• 2011

  Publication founded

  [1]The Costa Rica Staren.wikipedia.org

  The Costa Rica Star was founded in December 2011 as an English-language online news publication serving readers in Costa Rica.

A digital English-language news source translating and contextualizing Costa Rican and Central American events for expatriates, visitors, and other international readers.

• Digital news publication · 2011

  The Costa Rica Star online news service

  The publication's core offering is a website delivering English-language reporting about Costa Rica and Central America. Articles cover local and international affairs, crime and security, tourism, immigration, environmental issues, conservation, and stories of interest to expatriates and foreign visitors. Reporting often adapts information from Spanish-language Costa Rican media and adds explanatory context for readers unfamiliar with local institutions.

• 2014

  Perpetual-tourism misinformation controversy

  The Costa Rica Star published an old and inaccurate article suggesting imminent changes to Costa Rica's perpetual-tourism rules. After readers raised concerns, the publication said the item was a social experiment intended to show the dangers of misinformation. The explanation generated further criticism, and a reader organized a petition urging advertisers to boycott the site.

  Source

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• 2014

  Characterization of disputed tourism article as a social experimentOther

  Background

  An outdated and inaccurate report about changes to Costa Rica's perpetual-tourism rules circulated among expatriate readers and caused confusion.

  Action taken

  The publication stated that the article had been published as a social experiment illustrating how misinformation can spread.

  Aftermath

  The explanation failed to resolve the controversy for all readers and was followed by a reader-led petition seeking an advertising boycott.

  Source

1. 1The Costa Rica Staren.wikipedia.org