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A new report released Tuesday highlights how the far right is spreading misinformation to Black voters through popular influencers, social media and podcasts.
Over the past few years on the ReidOut Blog, I’ve written extensively about how popular, ostensibly Black news outlets, influencers and hip-hop podcasters have been used to spread far-right propaganda and misinformation or undermine civic engagement. This report is easily the most thorough examination I’ve seen into how false and manipulative claims make their way from bad actors to Black folks.
I clicked on it so fast that I almost hammered a hole in my desk. The report's analysis from the organization Onyx Impact can be found here.
NBC News summarized it well:
At least 40 million Americans may be regularly targeted and fed disinformation within Black online spaces by a host of sources across social media, fueling false information around the election, according to a new report published Tuesday. Touted as the first deep dive into understanding disinformation targeting Black America, the report, published by Onyx Impact, a nonprofit organization working to combat disinformation within the Black community, identified half a dozen core online networks “reaching or targeting” Black Americans online with false and misleading narratives.
The report highlights how extremists and other misinformation peddlers use outlets and influencers popular among Black folks to spread far-right claims and indoctrinate audiences with a conservative worldview. It lists several “gateway influencers and platforms” — media entities that are popular among Black folks and have been targeted by extremists — that have promoted misleading or bigoted views. That list mentions the online tabloid The Shade Room, the syndicated radio show "The Breakfast Club," influencer 19 Keys, the Joe Budden Podcast, The Stephen A. Smith Show, and the podcast “Earn Your Leisure.”
None of the aforementioned platforms responded to NBC News’ request for comment.
The report notes that some of these outlets’ large audiences could make them very useful in dispelling false and misleading claims, but it also highlights how some of these entities have already platformed extremist right-wingers. It also talks about some other concepts we’ve discussed here on the blog, including efforts to promote anti-immigrant sentiment within the Black community (a Trumpian strategy we’re seeing unfold today) and efforts to promote toxic hypermasculinity among Black men. And it talks about how artificial intelligence tools will likely exacerbate the spread of targeted disinformation without measures to combat it.
But it’s not all doom and gloom. The report includes suggestions on how to combat the spread of disinformation through Black influencers and outlets.
In our increasingly fragmented media landscape, this is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand how to fight back against far-right manipulation.