Disinformation is a problem the country has been dealing with since the past election, but trolls are now getting more specific and targeting communities of color, specifically Black communities.
“Bad actors use real cultural issues and conversations happening in Black communities and other communities of African descent and start injecting disinformation and false ideals,” said Jessica Ann Mitchell Aiwuyor, founder of the National Black Cultural Information Trust.
A lot of the issues brought up by “bad actors” include talks of reparations and other conversations about slavery.
These are real issues that need attention, but trolls will include false information. This ends up causing friction within Black communities and dissuades people from voting.
The National Black Cultural Information Trust has made it a goal to counteract this type of disinformation.
“So, what we are doing is putting out public service announcements, we are holding teach-ins, we are hosting webinars, we're doing interviews with scholars and activists so they can answer these questions directly,” said Aiwuyor.
The group will also use tools to show if accounts have troll-like behavior.
It also plans on building coalitions with Black immigrants and Latinos.
