Black Americans are more likely to be faced with disinformation on social media sites, according to a new study.
Reported by the Free Press BSP Research and the African American Research Collaborative, the poll relied on the responses of approximately 3,000 U.S. citizens.
Per the newly released survey, Black and Latino Americans are more likely to receive and spread the news on social media sites like Facebook and YouTube. Nearly 69% of Black and 62% of Latino survey participants said that they were targeted with news based on their experiences.
With the increased exposure to news generated from social media, Black adults said that they were more likely to be targeted with false information online. They were also more likely to report online harassment on social media as 32% of Black adults reported that this was an issue for them.
With the effects and spreading of disinformation on social media, a majority of participants agree that there needs to be public funding for more local news, particularly during elections. Black adults were found to be more likely to support more public funding as 62% said that it’s a necessity.
BREAKING: A new public-opinion poll from @freepress explores whether U.S. media and tech are prepared to support democratic elections. In short, they're not.
— Free Press (@freepress) May 30, 2024
Join us in working toward the #MediaWeWant: https://t.co/xP5cAbT2RT
“A majority believes that more independent news outlets could safeguard against disinformation and benefit the health of our democracy,” said the researchers per the study. “People’s beliefs about media and tech point to the urgent need for continued engagement and policy reform to advance accountability in these fields.”
Previous research has already found that Black Americans are often targeted with fake information, particularly during elections.
With the stage set for the upcoming November 2024 presidential election, Black voters have already begun receiving targeted misinformation in the form of artificial intelligence.
In March, according to NBC News, photos of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump surrounded by Black supporters circulated the internet. Fact checked by the outlets such as NBC and BBC, the news outlets found that the photo was AI-generated by Trump supporter Mark Kaye and his conservative radio show. The picture was shared on Facebook with more than one million people.
“From a psychological standpoint, so many of us are already tired. We’ve been bombarded with so much information, and because there are so many different information sources — including AI — that Black people have to protect themselves psychologically,” said Rhonda Sherrod, psychologist and former candidate for the Democratic Illinois Senate seat per NBC. “A lot of times that means that if you see something that strikes you a certain way, you need to try to look at some other sources of information to figure out whether or not it is credible. It’s a shame we have to go through all those hoops, but that’s the world we live in.”
