Kaine, Menendez, Luján, Colleagues Press WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal on Efforts to Stop Spanish-Language Misinformation and Disinformation on Their Platforms

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Tim Kaine, Bob Menendez, and Ben Ray Luján, alongside U.S. Representative Tony Cárdenas and a bicameral group of their colleagues, sent letters to WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal to express serious concerns about the rise of Spanish-language misinformation and disinformation targeted at Latino communities on these group messaging applications. The lawmakers also posed specific questions about what steps, if any, these companies are taking to prevent or address the spread of Spanish-language misinformation and disinformation.

“We write to express our serious concerns regarding the rise of Spanish-language misinformation and disinformation (“mis/disinformation”) targeted at Latino communities via group messaging apps. Mis/disinformation continues to disproportionately target Spanish-speaking communities across the United States, including campaigns during the 2020 presidential election and the COVID-19 vaccination effort,” the lawmakers wrote. “The spread of content that promotes mis/disinformation, undermines public health efforts, and instills distrust in our democratic institutions must become a top priority.”

The lawmakers made clear that group messaging applications like WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal can address the spread of Spanish-language misinformation and disinformation without compromising user privacy or the integrity of private encrypted communication “by increasing access to reliable fact-checking across languages, hiring and adequately investing in staff who have the necessary cultural context, and implementing other tools to slow the spread of viral mis/disinformation.”

Misinformation and disinformation disproportionately targets Spanish-speaking communities in the United States, including campaigns during the 2020 presidential election and the COVID-19 vaccination effort, and across Latin America, where group messaging platforms like Telegram were used to spread misinformation and disinformation to influence the 2018 Brazilian election.

A study conducted by Change Research on behalf of the Latino Anti-Disinformation Lab found that 66% of respondents whose primary language spoke at home is Spanish received wrong or harmful information about the COVID-19 vaccine through messaging apps like Signal, Telegram, and WhatsApp.

The lawmakers expressed concerns about how group messaging platforms like Telegram is an attractive platform for bad actors seeking to rapidly spread misinformation and disinformation to mass audiences because it allows as many as 200,000 individuals in a group with limited oversight. They also pointed out how it is estimated that by 2023 almost 71 percent of the U.S. Latino population will be WhatsApp users and how young Latinos, in particular, are twice as likely to use platforms like WhatsApp compared to the general population. This leaves young Latinos exposed to an even higher rate of misinformation and disinformation compared to the general population.

In addition to Kaine, Menendez, and Luján, Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Jack Reed (D-RI), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) also signed the letter. The letter was also led by Rep. Cárdenas in the House of Representatives and signed by Representatives Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL-20), Juan Vargas (D-CA-51), Nydia Velázquez (D-NY-07),  Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-13), Linda T. Sánchez (D-CA-38), Nanette Díaz Barragán (D-CA-44), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL-23), Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ-03), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14), Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA-40), Jesús G. "Chuy" García (D-IL-04), Darren Soto (D-FL-09), and Lauren Underwood (D-IL-14).

Full text of the letters can be found as follows: WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal.

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