Washington, D.C. – This midterm election, United We Dream Action (UWDA) spent over $350k for non-partisan ads in Florida, Texas, Nevada, and Arizona, with over $100K in Spanish language ads to “get out the vote” in Nevada alone. Latinx and immigrant communities continue to be faced with persistent right-wing disinformation tactics meant to confuse voters and dissuade them from exercising their political power at the polls. Through the Reclaim the Web program, United We Dream Action (UWDA) recruited nearly 700 volunteers who have shared over 100 pieces of UWDA’s culturally relevant content with their WhatsApp networks in English and Spanish.
The program trained content creators in best practices to debunk disinformation and effective communication techniques and tested pro-immigrant messaging on subjects like voting, the economy and cost of living, immigration, abortion rights, LGBTQ+ rights, DACA, and more.
Juanita Monsalve, Senior Marketing & Creative Director of United We Dream Action, said:
“United We Dream Action is a political home for young people, immigrants, and Black and brown young people. With so much at stake in the midterm elections for our communities, we wanted to ensure we helped our communities by preparing them against disinformation through culturally relevant content that would inoculate them against attacks. To organize against disinformation, it is essential that we meet people where they spend time. From digital ads on platforms like YouTube and Facebook in English and Spanish to working with influencers on TikTok and Instagram.
Through our Reclaim The Web program we created culturally relevant content tailored to different groups within our community both in English and Spanish, such as young Latino men, older generations, and religious audiences. We focused on distributing content through WhatsApp, where our communities are more likely to receive uncontested and one-sided harmful lies, propaganda, and disinformation that can’t be tracked. We wanted to meet people where they were and share our message in a way that would authentically resonate with them.
Reclaim the Web allowed us to protect our abuelos, tios, primos, and loved ones from right-wing propaganda and disinformation meant to harm and divide our communities. We will continue working tirelessly to fight xenophobic, homophobic, and racist narratives everywhere so that our Latinx and immigrant communities get the dignity and respect they deserve.”