How Al Madrigal is helping Latino voters spot misinformation

“What if I told you a foreign spy operation was going down in your bathroom... on your toilet,” says comedian and actor Al Madrigal in a video, holding up his phone.

Explaining that social media “is getting hammered by disinformation,” Madrigal and the video are part of a campaign by CALÓ News and Latin Nation (formerly LATV) to help Latino voters navigate the firehose of election information.

Latinos are particularly targeted with disinformation, partly because they’re one of the most affected groups when it comes to California’s digital divide. That’s the gap between people with easy access to technology, including the proper skills needed to navigate the digital world, and those who don't.

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From deep fake photos to AI robocalls to social media hoaxes, the videos explore how to deal with things like “your uncle who comes to family functions firing off conspiracy theories faster than he can pound the six pack he brought as a housewarming gift.”

The videos are meant to be accessible to Latinos of all ages, said Martin Albornoz, general manager at CALÓ News.

“By creating these videos, we can help people identify this disinformation and then be able to fight it…not necessarily giving people all the ammo to go and confront their uncles or whoever's sharing the disinformation,” Albornoz said. “But to just have people say, hey, this doesn't sound quite right.”

The campaign is available in Spanish and English.