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In recent years, experts have warned that the spread of political disinformation and conspiracy theories is ramping up in non-English-language media, including on social media platforms.
Examples include a Korean newspaper peddling baseless voter fraud claims after the 2020 presidential election and Spanish-language radio shows spreading misinformation ahead of this year's midterm elections.
The past couple days should remind us that Black, English-speaking Americans are targeted with misinformation, too.
Earlier this week, popular gossip site The Shade Room saw one of its posts go viral for claiming that President Joe Biden approved a $30 million plan to distribute "crack pipes" as a health equity measure.
For years, I have warned friends and family about ostensibly Black tabloids being used to launder conservative talking points to Black people.
If it sounds like a ludicrous claim, that’s because it is. The administration responded to the outlet directly, calling the claims “misleading and misinformed.” The Shade Room has since deleted its original report.
In reality, the Biden administration announced a harm-reduction program meant to reduce drug overdoses and prevent the spread of infectious diseases by distributing items called “safe smoking kits.” The kits typically include a rubber mouthpiece, disinfectant wipes and other materials to prevent infection and contamination. These kits and “safe injection sites” are viewed by substance misuse experts as important tools in the effort to rehabilitate people who misuse drugs.
But conservatives twisted the announcement, and its language about improving “health equity,” to mock and denounce the program as an offensive handout to racial minorities. The Shade Room parroted these conservative talking points to readers on its site and to its more than 25 million Instagram followers.
For years, I have warned friends and family about ostensibly Black tabloids being used to launder conservative talking points to Black people. And I’ve noticed a trend with a number of these platforms.
The Shade Room is often criticized for transphobia, homophobia and encouraging bullying in its comment section. And despite the fact that former President Donald Trump has been banned from several social media sites, the outlet regularly posts his statements and news releases.
Media Take Out, another Black-centered tabloid that faces much of the same criticism, was given exclusive access in 2016 to share Trump’s “new deal” for Black Americans.
And in 2014, controversial blog WorldStarHipHop posted a since-deleted video from the right-wing group Citizens for Urban Justice, which discouraged Black people from participating in Wisconsin's gubernatorial election. (Republican incumbent Scott Walker ended up winning re-election.) The site has also become a reliable source of Covid-19 vaccine misinformation.
Conservative figures have continually taken advantage of these platforms’ lax standards for content by ushering in ideas that harm Black people. And the platforms themselves, having faced years of criticism with minimal effect, are equally complicit.
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