The Fake News We're Not Talking About

[Zorro]

Right-wing conspiracy theories have infiltrated Asian and Latino communities through platforms like WeChat and WhatsApp. Democrats must take notice.

By Cathy Park Hong

In August I was on the phone with my mother, a 70-year-old Korean immigrant, to discuss the upcoming election. In the past, she had complained that President Trump was a lunatic, so I naturally assumed that she would support — or at least be neutral about — Joe Biden.

“I don’t like him either,” she told me. “He’ll be soft on China. I know all about his son Hunter’s business dealings there.”

Hearing her parrot a right-wing talking point was out of the ordinary. My mother doesn’t watch Fox News or any other English-language news. In her 40-plus years living in the United States, she has never voted. Alarmed, I began calling her more often to whack down spurious claims, as if I were playing a carnival game. Sick of my calls, my mother eventually registered to vote for the first time and voted for Mr. Biden.

But since the election, the fake news she hears has only worsened, spiking from Fox News talking points to batty QAnon-level conspiracy theories. When I ask where she gets her news, my mother simply says, everyone thinks this.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/20/opinion/fake-news-disinformation-immigrants.html

[Wellstone ruled]

1. Yupper,

similiar conversation with our Neighbor on Friday. Could not believe what he was saying. He is first Generation Filipino and his Spouse was born in the Philippine's. Just plain what the Heyyyy,show me your source of this garbage,he whipped out his phone,boom,shows me some total off the wall web site spewing this crap. If it is on the Web,got to be true.

[pandr32]

2. A whole Mexican-American branch of our family is indoctrinated

We hardly stay in touch now except for a few quick birthday calls.
All of them live in Southern California and are devout church goers. The problem is the churches that have opened their evangelical-style doors to the community. They are very right-wing political.
We still have a few of them blaming Obama for the loss of homes that family kept refinancing and taking the equity out of. They have been brainwashed to believe Trump is a good, Christian man and those children in cages were Obama's doing as well. They all voted for Trump/Biden.
There is no reaching them. Their religious beliefs are wrapped in right-wing propaganda. To point this out only reinforces their belief that we are godless.

[appalachiablue]

3. With deregulation of the media in the last 35 years there's

a universe of venues now, and few standards like years ago.

How can people follow disreputable sources; the battle for these two voting groups, Hispanics and Asians is critical.