False Political Information in Spanish Pits Latino Voters Towards Black Lives Matter

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False Political Information in Spanish Pits Latino Voters Towards Black Lives Matter

“They’re utilizing these chats to lie,” Ms. Pérez-Verdía mentioned. “It’s a large disinformation marketing campaign. They’re positively utilizing t


“They’re utilizing these chats to lie,” Ms. Pérez-Verdía mentioned. “It’s a large disinformation marketing campaign. They’re positively utilizing these loopy techniques that they’ve additionally utilized in Latin America.”

One instance of how conspiracy theories have invaded the mainstream got here final month when El Nuevo Herald, The Miami Herald’s sister publication in Spanish, admitted that it printed a complement with racist, anti-Semitic, misogynistic and homophobic commentary for greater than eight months.

In August, Radio Caracol, a Colombian community based mostly in Miami, aired a paid program from a businessman who spewed racist and anti-Semitic claims about how a Biden win would result in a dictatorship led by “Jews and Blacks.” The community rapidly apologized, barred the commentator and allotted time on a preferred afternoon program to debate what went incorrect.

Final month, Representatives Joaquin Castro of Texas and Debbie Mucarsel-Powell of Florida, each Democrats, requested the F.B.I. to research disinformation focusing on Latinos in South Florida, citing the Herald and Caracol incidents and a Politico report on a number of the most vile movies circulating on WhatsApp. A second letter despatched on Oct. 7 famous that they’d not obtained a response and requested for a briefing by Oct. 14.

They mentioned they’d obtained no response.

Randy Pestana, the director of schooling and coaching on cybersecurity at Florida Worldwide College, mentioned the purpose of current disinformation campaigns had been to create zero-sum relationships to blur actuality in order that within the voter’s thoughts, “you’re both for the police, otherwise you’re for Black Lives Matter.”

A lot of the misinformation has come from the Trump marketing campaign itself. Social media accounts for Equipo Trump and Latinos for Trump, official marketing campaign operations, have claimed that Latin American socialists are selling Biden and linked protests to actions in Latin American socialists international locations, and that Democrats in america are chargeable for them. Others have claimed that Democrats are ignoring assaults on Hispanic males.

“I didn’t see this in 2016,” Mr. Pestana mentioned.

On Actualidad Radio in Miami, Ms. Moncada’s Black Lives Matter rant prompted a backlash.

A couple of week later, Ms. Moncada devoted a part of this system to thanking listeners for retaining it atop the native rankings.

Patricia Mazzei reported from Miami, and Jennifer Medina from Phoenix and Los Angeles. Sheelagh McNeill contributed analysis.



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