As ranchera music filled Radio Campesina's recording studio in Phoenix, a personality from the station spoke in Spanish into the microphone.
“Friends of Campesina, in these elections truth and unity are more important than ever,” said morning show host Tony Arias. “Don't get caught up in misinformation.”
The audio was recorded as a promotion for Radio Campesina's new campaign that aims to empower Latino voters ahead of the 2024 elections. That effort includes discussing disinformation narratives related to the elections on air and verifying conspiracy theories.
“We are on the front lines of fighting misinformation in our communities,” said María Barquín, program director for Chávez 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. Therefore, now more than ever we must intensify these efforts.”
Latinos have grown at the second-fastest rate, behind Asian Americans, of any major racial or ethnic group in the United States since the last presidential election, according to a Pew Research Center analysis, and are projected to account for 14.7 %, or 36.2 million, of all eligible voters in November, a new record. They are a growing proportion of the electorate in several presidential and legislative battleground states, including Arizona, California and Nevada, and are being heavily courted by Republicans and Democrats.
Democratic President Joe Biden has credited Latino voters with 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, especially through audio and video, aimed at Spanish-speaking voters.
In addition to radio, much of the news and information Latinos consume is audio-based through podcasts or social media platforms 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 influencers peddling election falsehoods and QAnon conspiracy theories.
The types of misinformation overlap with falsehoods found in other conservative media and in many corners of the Internet: conspiracy theories about mail-in voting, dead people casting ballots, tampered voting machines, and threats at voting centers.
Other narratives are more tailored to Latino communities, including false information about immigration, inflation, and abortion rights, often exploiting the traumas and fears of specific communities. For example, Spanish speakers who come from countries with recent histories of authoritarianism, socialism, high inflation, and electoral fraud may be more vulnerable to misinformation on those topics.
Disinformation on the airwaves is also particularly difficult to track and combat compared to more traditional text-based misinformation, said Daiquiri Ryan Mercado, strategic legal counsel and policy advisor for the National Hispanic Media Coalition, which runs the Spanish Language Disinformation Coalition. While misinformation researchers can more easily code programs to categorize and track text-based misinformation, audio often requires manual listening. Radio stations that broadcast only in certain areas and at certain times can also be difficult to track.
“When 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 take advantage of that trust.”
Mercado and others said that is why reliable messengers, like Radio Campesina, are so important. The station was founded by Mexican-American labor and civil rights leader César Chávez and has built a loyal listening base over decades. At any given time, up to 750,000 people listen to the Radio Chávez Network on-air and online, Barquín said.
“They will come and listen to us through the music, but our main goal is to empower and educate through information,” he said. “Music is just a tactic to attract them.”
Radio Campesina's on-air talent and musical guests often discuss misinformation on air, answering listeners' questions about voting, teaching listeners how to spot misinformation, and conducting tutorials on election processes, such as how to mail-in ballots. . The station has also hosted rodeos and music events to register new voters and talk about misinformation.
They allow listeners to call or text questions on WhatsApp, a social media platform especially popular among immigrant communities but where much of the misinformation they see is compounded. In March, the station partnered with Mi Familia Vota, a Latino advocacy group, for an on-air program and voter phone bank event to answer questions from voters.
“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 Rodríguez-Greer, director of Mi Familia Vota in Arizona, before sharing information in the program on how voters can track their ballots.
The organization began working with Spanish-language media to dispel misinformation after seeing candidates like former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake spread election lies in 2022, Rodríguez-Greer said. Lake is now running for the US Senate with Trump's endorsement.
“One way to combat this misinformation is to fill the airways with good information,” said Angélica Razo, deputy national director of campaigns and programs at Mi Familia Vota.
A variety of other community and media groups are also prioritizing the seemingly endless fight against misinformation.
Maritza Félix often fact-checked misinformation 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 the Spanish nonprofit news organization Conecta Arizona.
He now runs a radio show and newsletter that debunks 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 been leaking across the border.
Spanish fact-checking group Factchequeado is creating 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 Factchequeado co-founder Laura Zommer. “So we have to address it with local and national groups coming together.”
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