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Spreading lies in Spanish: Congress wants answers on misinformation

Published December 2, 2022 at 12:40 PM EST
Shown in the Spanish language are "He Votado Hoy" stickers or I voted today at a polling place in Philadelphia, May 21, 2019. (Matt Rourke/AP)
Shown in the Spanish language are "He Votado Hoy" stickers or I voted today at a polling place in Philadelphia, May 21, 2019. (Matt Rourke/AP)

We’ve heard a lot about the spread of misinformation and disinformation in recent years. Lies and conspiracy theories are amplified across social media.

While misinformation is a big problem in English, it is even worse in Spanish. Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus have been calling on leaders of tech companies like YouTube, TikTok and Meta, which owns Facebook, and now Elon Musk as head of Twitter to come to Capitol Hill and answer questions about their efforts to quash misinformation in Spanish.

Here & Now‘s Anthony Brooks talks about the issue with Nora Benavidez, senior counsel and director of digital justice and civil rights at Free Press, a nonprofit working to expand access to digital news, information and the internet.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.