The Spread of Misinformation Within Spanish-Speaking Communities

In Latino communities, Spanish-language media is not as closely monitored as English-language media online. Misinformation is not a new issue within news media, but it is an especially troubling time for valuable truths to be lost in translation and slip through the cracks, especially leading up to the November election. 

While many news broadcasters in the U.S. have set out to ensure Latinos not proficient in English are properly informed via Spanish-language media, nearly half of the people in the community gain their knowledge of the news from social media platforms. Latino communities have generally felt they have been underserved.

One problem these populations face is that Latino communities are a collective hard to define. “Latino” includes groups that vary in origins and interests and each has bonds with multiple countries. This leads to fragmented conversations, with the flow of information differing in relation to each of these subgroups. Nevertheless, this segment of the U.S. population is not prioritized in a primarily English-speaking country and consequently has access to less information in their native language.

Experts are concerned that the misinformation members of this community  are exposed to could deter them from voting altogether. Latinos in the U.S. make up about a fifth of the country’s population—that’s 14.3% of eligible voters—so less participation in the voting process could have major repercussions for the upcoming election. 

Organizations like the Hispanic Federation have been created to bridge the gap in effectively informing Spanish-speaking U.S. citizens. The organization, founded by Frankie Miranda in 1990, was established in response to the widespread sense that Spanish-speaking communities were often left in the dark about crucial information. Miranda's efforts are centered on educating Latinos about their right to accurate information and mobilizing them to take action.

The Hispanic Federation seeks to strengthen Latino institutions through advocacy, service pillars, and community programs while forming relationships with Latino grassroots nonprofits. They’ve since built relationships with 100 other nonprofits and collaborated with government officials to ultimately improve quality of life within Hispanic and Latino communities. This all ties into the fight against misinformation because these communities would simply not be as well informed and empowered without their significant contributions.

Beyond organizations, initiatives have been launched and tools have been developed to properly inform Spanish-language speaking citizens and make certain that the true facts are found. Factchequeado, co-founded by former Chequeado CEO Laura Zommer and Maldita.es CEO Clara Jiménez Cruz, is a collaborative fact-checking initiative that combats misinformation in Spanish-language media in the U.S. After studies revealed that Meta missed flagging 70% of Spanish-language COVID-19 misinformation compared to 29% of English-language misinformation, Factchequeado was created to address and reduce this significant disparity.

The initiative has now built up a network of 47 small newsrooms and larger organizations. Factchequeado was recently used to expose lies being shared on social media about the recent and unsuccessful attempt at former President Donald Trump’s life. Their team worked around the clock immediately after initial reports of the shooting broke, addressing the rumors that were rapidly circulating in the Spanish-language social media space.

The issue of misinformation in Spanish-language media will continue to be a pervasive issue for Latino and Hispanic communities in the U.S. But with organizations like the Hispanic Federation and initiatives such as Factchequeado, the information gap can be bridged and more Spanish-speaking citizens will be accurately informed, though it will be an uphill battle through this election cycle. The risk of encountering misinformation will be ever-present, considering the reliance on social media for news, though efforts to improve media literacy will at least ensure these voices are heard.