Parties court Hispanic voters in the US, but they are also targets of misinformation

PHOENIX (AP) — As ranchera music filled Radio Campesina’s recording studio in Phoenix, a station personality spoke in Spanish into the microphone.

“Friends of La Campesina, in these elections truth and unity are more important than ever,” said Tony Arias, host of the morning show. “Don’t get caught up in misinformation.”

The audio was recorded as a promotion for Radio Campesina’s new campaign that aims to empower Hispanic voters ahead of the 2024 elections. That effort includes discussing on-air narratives of misinformation, disinformation, and fact-checking conspiracy theories. related to elections.

“We are on the front lines of fighting misinformation and disinformation in our communities,” said Maria Barquin, programming director at Chavez Radio Group, the nonprofit that runs Radio Campesina, a network of Spanish-language stations. in Arizona, California and Nevada. “There is a lot at stake in 2024 for our communities. That’s why we must step up these efforts now more than ever.”

Among major racial and ethnic groups in the United States, Hispanics have grown at the second-fastest rate — behind Asian Americans — since the last presidential election, according to an analysis by the Pew Research Center, a think tank that provides information on attitudes, trends and issues in the United States and the world, and are projected to represent 14.7% (36.2 million) of all eligible voters in November, a new record. They make up a growing share of the electorate in several of the closest presidential and congressional battleground states, including Arizona, California and Nevada, and are heavily courted by Republicans and Democrats.

Democratic President Joe Biden has said Hispanic voters are the key reason he defeated Republican Donald Trump in 2020 and is urging them to help him do it again in November. Given how much is at stake in a presidential election year, experts expect a wave of misinformation and disinformation, especially through audio and video, aimed at Spanish-speaking voters.

“Hispanics have immense voting power and can make a decisive difference in elections, however, they are an audience that is not targeted or given priority,” said Arturo Vargas, general director of the NALEO Educational Fund. (National Association of Hispanic Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund), a national nonprofit organization that encourages Latino civic participation. “Our vote has an impact. These bad actors know it and one way to influence the Latino vote is to misinform.”

Social networks

In addition to radio, much of the news and information that Hispanics consume is based on audio through podcasts or on social networks such as Facebook, WhatsApp and YouTube. Spanish-language content moderation efforts are limited on these platforms, where there are a growing number of right-wing individuals with large followings promoting election falsehoods and QAnon conspiracy theories. The types of misinformation overlap with falsehoods that are easily found in other conservative media and in many corners of the internet, conspiracy theories about mail-in voting, about dead people voting, rigged voting machines, and threats at voting centers.

Other narratives are more tailored toward Latino communities, including false information about immigration, inflation, and abortion rights, and often exploit the traumas and fears of specific communities. For example, Spanish speakers who have immigrated from countries with recent histories of authoritarianism, socialism, high inflation, and electoral fraud may be more vulnerable to misinformation on those topics.

Misinformation on the airwaves is also particularly difficult to track and combat compared to that spread by text, which is more traditional, said Daiquiri Ryan Mercado, strategic legal counsel and policy advisor for the National Hispanic Media Coalition. National Hispanic Media), which runs the Spanish Language Disinformation Coalition. While misinformation and disinformation researchers can more easily code programs to categorize and track information based on text, audio often requires active listening. Radio stations that broadcast only in certain areas and at certain times can also be difficult to track.

“Because we have such limited representation, Spanish speakers feel like they can connect with these people and they become trusted messengers,” Mercado said. “But some people can abuse that trust.”

Mercado and others said that’s why trusted messengers, like Radio Campesina, are so important. The station was founded by César Chávez, a Mexican-American labor and civil rights leader, and has built a loyal audience over decades. At any given time, up to 750,000 people listen to the Chavez Radio Network on-air and online, Barquin said.

“They come and listen to us through the music, but our main objective is to empower and educate through information,” he announced. “Music is just a tactic to attract them.”

Radio Campesina’s on-air talent and musical guests often discuss misinformation on air and answer listeners’ questions about voting, teach listeners how to spot misinformation and disinformation, and conduct tutorials on election processes, such as how to send mail-in ballots. The station has also hosted rodeos and music events to register new voters and talk about misinformation.

They ask their audience to ask questions by phone or text message on WhatsApp, a platform especially popular among immigrant communities, and where much of the misinformation they see festers. In March, the station partnered with Mi Familia Vota — a Hispanic advocacy group — for an on-air program and call center event to answer voter questions.

“We know that there are many people who are unmotivated because sometimes we come from countries where, when it comes to elections, we do not trust the vote,” said Carolina Rodriguez-Greer, Arizona director of Mi Familia Vota, before sharing information on the show about how voters can track their ballots.

The organization began working with Spanish-language media to dispel misinformation and disinformation after seeing candidates like former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake spread election lies in 2022, Rodriguez-Greer said. Lake is now running for the US Senate with Trump’s endorsement.

“One way to combat this misinformation is to fill the airwaves with good information,” said Angelica Razo, deputy national director of campaigns and programs at Mi Familia Vota. In Tempe, Brian Garcia tunes in to Radio Campesina as he drives to work. When he was a child, the station played while his father prepared dinner and his family gathered around the table. She was a staple for his family, he said, and he is excited about his efforts to address election misinformation.

“There are not many organizations or people who go to Spanish-language media to combat misinformation and disinformation,” he said. “And I think serving as a resource and trusted source within the Latino community that has already built those relationships, that trust will go a long way.”

Endless fight

Several other community and media groups are also prioritizing the seemingly endless fight against misinformation and disinformation.

Maritza Félix frequently fact-checked misinformation and disinformation for her mother, whom she calls the “Queen of WhatsApp.” This led Félix to do the same with family and friends in a WhatsApp group that grew into Conecta Arizona, a nonprofit Spanish-language news organization.

He now hosts a radio show and publishes a newsletter debunking false claims about electoral processes, health care, immigration and border policy. He Connects Arizona also combats misinformation about the upcoming Mexican presidential election that Félix says has leaked across the border.

Jeronimo Cortina, an associate professor of political science at the University of Houston, tracks broad narratives of misinformation and disinformation targeting Spanish-speaking communities across the country, but also localized content targeting the state’s Latino electorate, a rapidly growing demographic. . That includes misinformation that the candidates’ clean energy policies will eliminate jobs in Texas’ oil and gas industries, and about immigrants crossing the border in droves.

“You’re not going to see the same content targeted at Hispanics in Texas as you are at Hispanics in Iowa,” he said.

This has led to a broader universe of groups addressing misinformation targeting Hispanics. The NALEO Educational Fund’s Defend The Truth campaign monitors disinformation and trains community leaders to detect it. In Florida, the We Are Más podcast combats misinformation and disinformation in Spanish nationally and locally, said Evelyn Pérez-Verdía, its founder. Jolt Action, an advocacy group to primarily empower young Hispanics in Texas, registers new voters and helps them make sense of misinformation.

Factchequeado, a Spanish fact-checking group, builds partnerships with dozens of media outlets across the country to provide free fact-checking training and content in Spanish.

“Disinformation is both a global phenomenon and a hyperlocal phenomenon,” said Laura Zommer, co-founder of Factchequeado. “So we have to address it with local and national groups working together.”