LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Helping to put an end to disinformation.
As part of news literacy week, we're focused on clarifying the problem of public distrust in the media. There's growing evidence one particular group is being hit especially hard with disinformation - Latinos.
I went out to talk about this with our Latino community. While some say they feel the information they receive from media platforms here in the valley is accurate, others believe the information is intended to mislead.
Lucero Sazo was running her errands getting groceries to feed her loved ones, but another big responsibility she carries is providing them with the latest news and information.
Abel: "Where do you get the majority of your information as a Latina mother and family member?"
Lucero : "From the news, all the time from the news, and then I Google the information."
Sazo says recently, she's received false and misleading information across multiple platforms.
Such as information during the pandemic, she says at times the information feels like an attack on the Latino community.
"Sometimes we feel really bad because there are times we are discriminated against because we are Latinos."
Manager of the Las Vegas Latino Anti-Disinformation Program with Battle Born Progress, Ignacio Romero says what Lucero is feeling is no surprise.
His organization works on watching different platforms, from news to social media, and countering information targeted against latinos.
"We have actors of disinformation that are trying to attack our community."
He says it's critical to differentiate misinformation from disinformation.
"Misinformation is a falsehood that wasn't created or designed to harm anyone, but disinformation was created specifically to damage the reputation of a person, an organization, an entity, a country."
He says in most recent elections there was a lot of disinformation with the Latino community being generalized and labeled.
"Criminals, rapists, the unemployment, everything is targeting the Latino's right now is a big problem."
Romero says we see disinformation targeting Latinos every day in Nevada. So now the big question is, what can we as a community do to stop it?
"You need to understand if this is an opinion piece or an objective piece. You have to understand if the information you are getting in other reliable sources."
Romero says social media is a major spreader of disinformation, and Lucero says while it can be a valuable tool she doesn't trust it to inform her family.
"I need the information for my kid, I have an 8-year-old, and I need all the information for him and my family, my mom is also a senior and she needs to be informed."
