We Hold These Truths
We Hold These Truths
We Hold These Truths
| 11.17.22

Do you think mis-, dis- , and mal-information on social media is adequately regulated?

Take the poll!

What is it?  

  • New research from NYU’s Center for Social Media and Politics shows that Latino communities who use Spanish as their primary language of communication consume and are exposed to more mis-, dis-, and mal-information (MDM) while using social media.  
  • Language plays a large factor in exposure to MDM; many popular technology platforms, including Meta, admit to being worse at moderating Spanish language content. This has strong, negative ramifications for the 40% of Latino people who primarily use Spanish to communicate on these platforms.   
  • According to the study, Latino individuals report relying more heavily on social media to receive news. Latinos interacting with Spanish social media posts stated greater beliefs in MDM surrounding COVID-19 and election integrity than users navigating the platforms using English.  

Why does it matter?  

  • Targeting social media users by language can create information silos and perpetuate divides within the country, exacerbating nationwide discord.  
  • Inadequate moderation for Spanish language content can be taken advantage of to inundate Spanish-speaking communities with MDM intentionally, harming the communities targeted and pushing nationwide electoral distrust.  

What can you do?  

  • Flag information you suspect may be MDM on WhatsApp, Telegram, and other popular social media platforms.  
  • Learn how to fact-check viral messages on WhatsApp in English and Spanish.  
  • Read more about NYU’s research findings. 

Authored by Anna Cohen

  • Christopher
    Voted No
    11/20/2022

    It's obvious that regulating free speech on social media platforms is very complex and requires more human intervention than machines and algorithms.

  • Rob
    Voted No
    11/20/2022

    No, they're not effectively regulated on some platforms, e.g. Quora, Twitter, etc.

  • Susan
    Voted No
    11/17/2022

    I report fake news post, usually political and very often recist but they are rarely taken down. I blame Facebook for the referendum result with their data breaches and outright lies often posted as memes but actually advertisements. 

  • Daryl
    Voted No
    11/17/2022

    Of course not it's not beneficial at this time for the owners of the social media companies to do so!!