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In a world where lies travel at the speed of light, truth struggles to keep up. From AI-generated deep fakes to lightning-fast social media rumors, disinformation is reshaping our reality. In the wake of Donald Trump’s shooting, falsehoods flooded our feeds faster than facts. The problem of disinformation, the deliberate spread of false or misleading information, isn’t new, but the stakes are high in this critical election year. In this monthly installment of “Meet the BIPOC Press”, we ask: Who are the targets of disinformation in the run up to the 2024 election and why? Joining Laura are Tamoa Calzadilla, the editor and chief of Factchequeado, a collaborative initiative to combat mis- and disinformation targeting Latino and Spanish-speaking communities. Esosa Osa is the founder of Onyx Impact and the former Deputy Executive Director of Fair Fight Action, the voting rights organization founded by Stacey Abrams. Esosa has just released the first report of its kind looking at disinformation specifically in Black online spaces. Kadia Tubman is a disinformation correspondent for Scripps News, a national broadcast news channel based in Atlanta. What is media and government’s role in halting the spread of disinformation? Our guests share what concerned citizens can do right now to protect fact-based reporting.
“I prepared with my team a toolkit for journalists who cover Latino communities . . . and tools that are not for professional fact-checkers, it is for everyone who wants to detect disinformation . . . It’s collaborative work. We have an alliance with more than 90 media outlets because we understand that we alone can’t do this.” – Tamoa Calzadilla
“What is so fascinating right now in media altogether is that we’re seeing less trust in mainstream media and more trust in influencers, specific voices, specific personalities, especially with apps and social media platforms like TikTok . . . Because of that trust that’s growing with an audience, we’re seeing those influencers being tapped or used by bad actors to spread misinformation.” – Kadia Tubman
“One of the big solutions that Onyx Impact is focused on is investing in Black media in particular and engaging with Black online influencers and gateway platforms as well. We keep saying this word trust, but it is trusted messengers are going to become the key to stemming disinformation as we move forward in this country.” – Esosa Osa
Guest
- Tamoa Calzadilla: Editor in Chief, Factchequeado
- Kadia Tubman: Journalist, Disinformation Correspondent, Scripps News
- Esosa Osa: Founder & CEO, Onyx Impact
Portions of this interview are featured in our episode, “Democracy Under Siege: Battling Disinformation in the 2024 Election”
