The Misinformation Web
The 2024 presidential election has seen a rise in Spanish-language misinformation and in the content creators making a living by pushing out false content. For months, Futuro Investigates in collaboration with Latino USA, tracked how lies and conspiracies about the election and the candidates that originated in English soon found their way to Spanish-speaking audiences, amid the expanded monetization of tech platforms and the rise of technologies like AI. We meet face to face with social media influencers pushing out misinformation in Spanish, and with the experts combating it. This story is part of our ongoing election coverage “The Latino Factor: How We Vote.”
The Misinformation Web
In recent months, influencers living outside the U.S. have been ramping up their spread of fake news about the U.S. elections. Futuro Investigates tracked them to understand who they are, how they profit, and how they influence Spanish-speaking voters.
Refuse To Despair: A Reporter’s Notebook. My Intercontinental Journey to Unravel Misinformation’s Grip on Latino Voters
I’m a millennial. That means I grew up with the internet, in that sweet spot where I witnessed firsthand the rise of social media, but can also remember the time before it. I’m not an expert on internet culture or tech in any way, but being an internet user for over two decades, and an admittedly very online person, I have a pretty good understanding of how it all works. To say it’s changed or grown since I was a kid is a massive understatement.
Our Methodology Note
The first step in the collection and analysis of information for our research project ‘The Misinformation Web,’ was a review of notes, studies, and published articles about the spread of fake news in Spanish in the United States. We identified works like these from the Reuters Institute and reports from the Associated Press, among others, which reveals a concerning context regarding this phenomenon and its evolution in recent years.
Podcast: The Misinformation Web
The 2024 presidential election has seen a rise in Spanish-language misinformation and in the content creators making a living by pushing out false content. For months, Futuro Investigates in collaboration with Latino USA, tracked how lies and conspiracies about the election and the candidates that originated in English soon found their way to Spanish-speaking audiences, amid the expanded monetization of tech platforms and the rise of technologies like AI. We meet face to face with social media influencers pushing out misinformation in Spanish, and with the experts combating it.