How conservatives use Black tabloids to push disinformation
How conservatives use Black tabloids to push disinformation
Popular gossip site The Shade Room helped spread racist, right-wing rhetoric this week. It’s part of a trend.
By Ja'han Jones
In recent years, experts have warned that the spread of political disinformation and conspiracy theories is ramping up in non-English-language media, including on social media platforms.
Examples include a Korean newspaper peddling baseless voter fraud claims after the 2020 presidential election and Spanish-language radio shows spreading misinformation ahead of this year's midterm elections.
The past couple days should remind us that Black, English-speaking Americans are targeted with misinformation, too.
Earlier this week, popular gossip site The Shade Room saw one of its posts go viral for claiming that President Joe Biden approved a $30 million plan to distribute "crack pipes" as a health equity measure.
If it sounds like a ludicrous claim, that’s because it is. The administration responded to the outlet directly, calling the claims “misleading and misinformed.” The Shade Room has since deleted its original report.
In reality, the Biden administration announced a harm-reduction program meant to reduce drug overdoses and prevent the spread of infectious diseases by distributing items called “safe smoking kits.” The kits typically include a rubber mouthpiece, disinfectant wipes and other materials to prevent infection and contamination. These kits and “safe injection sites” are viewed by substance misuse experts as important tools in the effort to rehabilitate people who misuse drugs.
READ MORE: How conservatives use Black tabloids to push disinformation https://www.msnbc.com/the-reidout/reidout-...
Popular gossip site The Shade Room helped spread racist, right-wing rhetoric this week. It’s part of a trend.
By Ja'han Jones
In recent years, experts have warned that the spread of political disinformation and conspiracy theories is ramping up in non-English-language media, including on social media platforms.
Examples include a Korean newspaper peddling baseless voter fraud claims after the 2020 presidential election and Spanish-language radio shows spreading misinformation ahead of this year's midterm elections.
The past couple days should remind us that Black, English-speaking Americans are targeted with misinformation, too.
Earlier this week, popular gossip site The Shade Room saw one of its posts go viral for claiming that President Joe Biden approved a $30 million plan to distribute "crack pipes" as a health equity measure.
If it sounds like a ludicrous claim, that’s because it is. The administration responded to the outlet directly, calling the claims “misleading and misinformed.” The Shade Room has since deleted its original report.
In reality, the Biden administration announced a harm-reduction program meant to reduce drug overdoses and prevent the spread of infectious diseases by distributing items called “safe smoking kits.” The kits typically include a rubber mouthpiece, disinfectant wipes and other materials to prevent infection and contamination. These kits and “safe injection sites” are viewed by substance misuse experts as important tools in the effort to rehabilitate people who misuse drugs.
READ MORE: How conservatives use Black tabloids to push disinformation https://www.msnbc.com/the-reidout/reidout-...
But conservatives twisted the announcement, and its language about improving “health equity,” to mock and denounce the program as an offensive handout to racial minorities.