WhatsApp’s Expanding Influence Among US Latinos: A Hub for Connection, Community, and Disinformation in 2024
WhatsApp’s prominence as a communication platform continued to surge in 2024, solidifying its role as a vital tool for U.S. Latinos to connect with family and friends, share vital information, and, unfortunately, navigate a complex landscape of disinformation. With a global user base exceeding 3.2 billion monthly active users, including 100 million in the United States, WhatsApp has become deeply ingrained in the daily lives of many, particularly within the Latino community. Pew Research Center data highlights this trend, revealing that 54% of Latino adults used WhatsApp as of January 2024, a marked increase from 46% in 2021. The app’s popularity extends to younger generations as well, with 29% of Latino teens regularly engaging with the platform. Notably, for a significant portion of Latinos (12% across 12 states), WhatsApp serves as a primary news source, underscoring its growing influence on information consumption within this demographic.
The pervasiveness of WhatsApp within the Latino community makes it a fertile ground for the spread of misinformation, particularly during politically charged periods like the 2024 election cycle. Research conducted by the Digital Democracy Institute of the Americas (DDIA) and Brazilian tech group Palver shed light on the extent of this issue. Their analysis of over 1,487 public WhatsApp groups, primarily communicating in Spanish or Portuguese, unveiled a staggering volume of over 1.6 million messages exchanged between January and October 2024, reaching an audience of nearly 800,000 individuals across various U.S. states. A significant portion of these messages contained false or misleading information, with election-related content being particularly prevalent. Over 3,200 instances of disinformation were documented, circulating within more than 1,400 Latino-led public WhatsApp groups and reaching an estimated 3.4 million Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking users.
The nature of this disinformation varied, encompassing misleading claims about prominent political figures like Joe Biden and Donald Trump, as well as distortions regarding voting systems in countries like Mexico and Brazil. These messages often employed manipulative tactics such as emotionally charged language, ad hominem attacks, and the selective presentation of information (cherry-picking) to sway opinions and amplify specific narratives. Beyond electoral politics, global conflicts and crises also served as fodder for misinformation campaigns. Over 600 messages disseminating false information about events like the war in Gaza, NATO’s involvement in Ukraine, and Ecuador’s security crisis were identified within Latino-led WhatsApp groups. The use of disturbing imagery and out-of-context videos further exacerbated the spread of sensationalized and often inaccurate accounts.
The end-to-end encryption employed by WhatsApp presents a significant challenge to content moderation efforts, making it difficult to monitor the flow of information within private chats. Researchers, therefore, rely on access to public groups to analyze trends and identify patterns of misinformation. The DDIA’s research identified 3,000 “viral” messages, marked by Meta’s double arrow icon signifying frequently forwarded content. These messages often intertwined political themes with topics like religion and immigration, demonstrating their capacity to resonate with diverse audiences and transcend geographical boundaries. This blending of political, economic, social, and religious themes proved particularly effective in driving engagement and amplifying the reach of disinformation. Anti-communism narratives, often propagated by right-wing groups, were frequently intertwined with these broader discussions, particularly in the context of election-related conversations. It is estimated that nearly 400,000 U.S.-based Latinos may have encountered these misleading claims across 1,200 public WhatsApp groups.
The vulnerability of Spanish-speaking communities to online misinformation is further compounded by gaps in content moderation and fact-checking within Spanish-language media. Research conducted by the University of California, San Diego, and New York University highlights this disparity, revealing that Latinos who rely on Spanish-language social media for news are significantly more susceptible to believing false political narratives compared to those who primarily consume English-language media. This study, which surveyed over 1,100 U.S.-based Latinos, found that individuals using Spanish-language social media for news were 11 to 20 percentage points more likely to believe in these false narratives, which spanned a wide range of topics from U.S. immigration policies to misinformation surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. This discrepancy underscores the urgent need for increased fact-checking resources and improved content moderation practices within Spanish-language online spaces.
The convergence of WhatsApp’s popularity among U.S. Latinos, the platform’s inherent challenges in content moderation, and the prevalence of disinformation targeting this community paints a concerning picture. While WhatsApp serves as a vital tool for connection and community building, its susceptibility to manipulation necessitates proactive measures to address the spread of misinformation. Strengthening fact-checking initiatives, improving media literacy within Latino communities, and fostering collaboration between tech companies and research organizations are crucial steps in mitigating the harmful effects of disinformation and ensuring access to accurate and reliable information. The stakes are high, particularly in the context of democratic processes, and addressing this challenge demands a concerted effort from all stakeholders to safeguard the integrity of information and protect vulnerable communities from manipulation.