These platforms spread the most disinformation to black voters

A brand new report reveals the top forms of platforms that spread disinformation to black voters, with major influencer and podcast networks fueling “fake news” amongst this critical demographic.

On June 25, Onyx Impact published “The Black Online Disinformation Landscape.” According to the description, the evaluation serves as “the first-ever comprehensive action plan to understand and address the unique disinformation networks and narratives both within and against dark web spaces.”

The study details how six major networks have worked to reach Black voters by fostering division and fatigue ahead of the 2023 general election, which could affect greater than 40 million Black Americans. Among the most prevalent are influencers and “gateway” platforms like The Breakfast Club, The Joe Budden Podcast, The Shade Room and other shows aimed primarily at Black audiences.

These platforms can, often unintentionally, use their enormous influence in the Black community to make clear false narratives. Hosting controversial speakers to advance their agenda on these shows can contribute to disinformation. Furthermore, advocates of Black media and cultural commentary often allow guests to spread their messages unchecked, which may lead to harmful consequences.

Another network is far-right activists with media platforms. Candace Owens stays at the forefront of popular black conservative outlets. Her promotion of controversial revisionist narratives, which the study found to have significant influence and reach across black America, contributes significantly to the disinformation landscape, the report found. Owens’s extreme conservatism, which she attributes to her platform’s growing popularity and vitality, could drive her reach of greater than 11 million.

But while the fallout from these disinformation efforts is cause for concern, Onyx Impact founder Esosa Osa noted that black voters aren’t immediately falling in love trap.

“Black voters are likely less susceptible to many disinformation narratives, given their well-deserved higher levels of skepticism toward institutions and government in general,” Osa told . “But as in other communities, when disinformation is targeted and comes from established messengers, it can be extremely effective and dangerous.”

Other networks include health skeptics, black nativists and separatists, and the misogynist black manosphere, as well as to foreign actors. Social disengagement, gender wars, and general division even have a big reach and influence on disinformation in black media networks.