MIAMI – The U.S. House Committee on House Administration held a roundtable discussion on Monday morning at the Miami-Dade College Wolfson Campus about the impact of misinformation and disinformation on elections.
U.S. Rep. G. K. Butterfield Jr., D-North Carolina, the chair of the elections subcommittee, chaired the meeting. Democratic Representatives Pete Aguilar and Nanette Barragan, of California; Teresa Leger Fernandez, of New Mexico; and Darren Soto questioned the panel.
“Florida is becoming the incubator for misinformation in Spanish that then is exported,” Leger Fernandez said.
Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, a former Democratic representative of Florida’s 26th District, said the disinformation is “extremely concerning” and right-wing groups are taking advantage of migrants who are 65 years old or older.
“It is well coordinated by elected officials in high-levels of government,” Mucarsel-Powell said, adding her mother handed her a paid advertisement full of disinformation that was meant to “sow distrust” and was distributed in El Nuevo Herald, a reputable newspaper.
Mucarsel-Powell also mentioned seniors who are Spanish-speaking registered Democrats had reported their party affiliation changed without their authorization, which Local 10 News reported.
Raúl L. Martínez, a former mayor of Hialeah and Democrat, said there was a paid radio program that was spreading disinformation and that was offensive to members of the Jewish and Black Santeria communities.
“Radio stations are not owned by individuals; they are leased,” said Martínez, who had a show on Caracol 1260 AM radio.
Andrea Mercado, the executive director of Florida Rising, an organization focused on expanding Democracy, said Spanish-language media outlets enable the spread of disinformation and need the attention of the Federal Communications Commission.
“Even elected officials such as Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar saying things on Spanish-language radio that we believe they would never say on English-language radio‚” Mercado said, adding a Florida Rising’s report documents some of the instances of disinformation.
Eduardo Gamarra, the director of Florida International University’s Latino Public Opinion Forum, said the disinformation is designed to exploit the fears of U.S. voters who are from Cuba, Colombia, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.
“The appearance of social media platforms has intensified this ... the pace has accelerated,” Gamarra said, adding public officials at every level were disseminating the disinformation.
The panel also included Ameer Patel, of Voto Latino, a nonprofit organization aiming to encourage young Hispanic and Latino voters to register to vote and become more politically involved.
Watch the discussion on YouTube