For Latinos, combating disinformation about the election often starts at home

Maria Lourdes Naranjo waves an American flag Oct. 18 in Miami, as she and other Trump fans shout at Biden supporters driving by. Some activists counteract the disinformation online; other advocacy groups have launched programs and group chats and offered guides on “how to talk to your family about disinformation.” When protests broke out across the country after the police killing of George Floyd, Adrian Reyna’s mother, who lives in Texas, texted him and asked if he was out “looting.” Reyna, a resident of Seattle, pointed out that the photos she shared were not taken in the city. Samantha Zager, deputy national press secretary for the Trump campaign, called Biden’s attempt to distance himself from the platforms of Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez “the real disinformation campaign.” Experts say the impact of disinformation on voters is hard to measure, but signs of its reach are most visible in South Florida, where claims that Biden is a socialista are ubiquitous. “I can’t vote for a man who is saying he wants to make everything free like they did in my country,” she said, as she waved a giant American flag. “No, it is the perspective of a woman who grew up a Black child in America, who also was a prosecutor,” she said, adding that she supports Biden’s more moderate policies.