The private media was accused of assisting the 2002 coup against Hugo Chávez due to actions performed before and during the events that unfolded. On 11 April, the anti-government march, the message "remove Chávez", and the call to redirect the march to the presidential palace in Milaflores, were "widely announced, promoted, and covered by private television channels, whose explicit support for the opposition became evident." The media ran ads encouraging viewers to protest and news coverage was biased and even manipulated, with a "Foreign Policy" blog citing Chávez supporters stating that "uch tactics were crucial to the coup's strength." On the first morning after the 2002 coup, many of the new Carmona government's highest-ranking members appeared on-air to offer their appreciation to the private media for their support. Once the counter-coup was launched by "Chavistas" and loyalist elements of the Palace Guard, stations censored any reporting on the events and chose to broadcast classic films and sitcom reruns. Media officials instead attributed this to safety concerns and further denied taking part in the coup: while admitting that they made mistakes, they stated that factual coverage was impeded by the confusion surrounding the coup attempt.