We’ve often said that the nation’s Spanish-language corporate media are unequivocally the biggest source and spreaders of Spanish-language disinformation to a vulnerable audience that relies on these news divisions for information on the events of the day. A recent poll has now arrived at the same conclusion, thus confirming our long-held thesis.
The Bienvenido-WPA poll published on October 25th finds both that viewers of Univision and Telemundo newscasts are frequently misinformed on a number of key issues, and that these levels of misinformation are directly attributable to the networks’ unbridled activist impulses- which in our experience has often cast the wildest left-wing frame on any given story.
For example: 69% of Univision/Telemundo news viewers believed that former President Donald Trump called all immigrants animals in May of 2018.
Watch below as then-Univision anchor Enrique Acevedo and Tucker Carlson sparred over the term, keeping in mind that Acevedo’s stance was entirely reflective of how newsrooms reported the statement at the time and is consistent with what the poll reflects (click “expand” to view full transcript):
TUCKER CARLSON: Enrique Acevedo is an anchor for Univision. He joins us now. Enrique, you seem like a reasonable person. How did you wind up with the group in the media defending MS-13? Did you ever think you'd be there?
ENRIQUE ACEVEDO, UNIVISION ANCHOR: I don't think any human being is an animal, Tucker. But I'm not here to defend criminals. Not sure that anyone else -
CARLSON: Oh, yes, you are.
ACEVEDO: If you are for law and order, I don't think degrading anyone to less than human serves that purpose. You would expect the president of the United States to speak to our highest ideals and not just our worst instincts.
CARLSON: So, just to put this in some context, here are a couple recent headlines about MS-13. MS-13 gang stabbed a man 100 times, decapitated him and ripped out his heart, police say. MS-13 beat sex trafficked girl with a bat 28 times. MS-13 member in satanic shrine kidnapped, drugged and raped a 14-year-old Houston girl. I could go on. When you hear those people described as animals, you get offended. Why? Why would people who do that need to be defended by you? What about what Trump said sort of got you going?
ACEVEDO: I think we cannot pretend to look at this in a larger context. We cannot pretend that this is not part of a larger trend that started way before Donald Trump became president, a trend of criminalizing and dehumanizing all immigrants, not just the bad hombres. The question was about gang members who are operating inside the US. President Trump answered by -
CARLSON: Yes, MS-13.
ACEVEDO: (INAUDIBLE) those coming across the border animals.
CARLSON: No. Look, I'm not here to defend all of Trump's views, but in this very specific case, he was asked about MS-13. He has been talking about this for more than a year. And he said, they are animals. Now, you may not like the term. Maybe it's imprecise or whatever. But I find it so interesting that you rush to the defense of MS-13. Is there no one else you can defend? They're not other worthy people being attacked? You need to defend a street gang that worships Satan and beheads people? Do you wake up in the morning and ask yourself, how did I get here? I'm a decent person, why am I defending MS-13?
ACEVEDO: I'm not sure what you mean when you say that I defended MS-13. I actually started this interview by saying I'm not here to defend any criminals.
CARLSON: And then, you went on to defend them when you say that they were dehumanized.
ACEVEDO: I'm just saying that no human being is an animal.
Consider, also, Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act. Latino media joined the left’s spurious framing of the bill as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill. The Bienvenido-WPA poll found that a staggering 82% of Univision/Telemundo news viewers believed that “Florida has a law that prohibits students and teachers from saying the word ‘gay’ in all public schools.” Given their unhinged coverage of the bill, one is tempted to look at the 82% number and ask, “why so low”?
77% of respondents thought that the Dobbs ruling outlawed abortion throughout the United States, as depicted in the featured image. Additionally, a whopping 66% believe that the 2016 presidential election was stolen by Russia.
Spanish-language media also threatens democracy by skewing perceptions of the salient issues of the day. Consider that, per the poll, inflation and the cost of living is the top issue of concern for voters in the 2022 midterm election. However, it only ranks 11th for viewers who depend on Spanish-language news. Why would they think otherwise when Univision, for example, all but assured them that the "Inflation Reduction Act" would take care of inflation?
BORJA VOCES: And on Saturday the Senate will vote on the controversial “Inflation Reduction Act”, a key package on President Biden's agenda. Yesterday, and after several days of negotiations, Arizona Senator Krysten(sic) Sinema, gave her support to the project that according to experts will help deal with the inflation we are experiencing. In addition, it would reduce the fiscal deficit and the price of certain medicines, impose taxes on large corporations, and allocate millions to fight climate change. If greenlit, it will go to the House for approval.
You can expect a robust renewal of the “Spanish-language disinformation” trope once the smoke has fully cleared from the 2022 midterm election. But now you know that such tropes have no basis in fact.
The true disseminators of Spanish-language disinformation are not conservatives on the radio or on social media. Instead, data shows that it is spread by leftists embedded in corporate Spanish-language newsrooms. This is why fewer Hispanics than ever trust in Spanish-language media.
The marketplace continues to cry out for alternatives.
