Viewers of Spanish-speaking media in the U.S. have come to expect their daily dose of COVID panic porn. But the new practice of fixating on children as experts on the subject of mask safety, shoving mics into their innocent faces, can only be regarded as a new low in news reporting.
As if the above were not enough to make you cringe, the actual object of these child-centered reports, far from any concern about their wellbeing, is to criminalize red-state governors that support parental choice instead of blanket mask mandates in schools, i.e. Ron DeSantis and Greg Abbott.
The following clip shows reporters at Telemundo and Univision “interviewing” elementary school boys and girls who simply parrot their parents and teacher’s words (and probably the network’s script):
ROGELIO MORA-TAGLE, TELEMUNDO: Do you agree that you should always use the mask inside the school?
GIRL: Yes.
BOY: Some don't wear the mask.
MORA-TAGLE: And are they scolded?
JOSE MANUEL CARPIO, 6TH GRADE STUDENT: Yes, and they get a red card.
VILMA TARAZONA, UNIVISION: What do you think about wearing masks?
BOY: It’s fine, because the virus is affecting a lot
MORA-TAGLE: Do you have a hard time using the mask inside or isn't it that hard?
VALERIA ALBORNOZ, 4TH GRADE STUDENT: With the air conditioning inside the classrooms it doesn't bother me too much. But since this prevents me from catching COVID, it does bother me a little sometimes.
MORA-TAGLE: Do you have a hard time using it, does it bother you a little?
BOY: Yes, it bothers me sometimes.
MORA-TAGLE: And why is it important to wear the mask at school, tell me?
GIRL: Because there's coronavirus.
BOY: They should always wear it.
One cannot help but notice that the minors featured in these reports that aired on Telemundo and Univision between August 18th and August 24th, 2021, give the impression of being fearful. In fact, one little boy tells Telemundo reporter Rogelio Mora-Tagle about how the children are scolded and given a "red flag" if they don’t keep the mask on at school.
The red flag, however, goes to the Latino networks insistent on using (abusing?) minors in order to push a political agenda, and to the children’s parents for allowing them to take part in said charade.
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