MEXICO CITY (appro).- Before taking the arduous journey from their country of origin to the United States in search of a better life, migrants usually turn to the Internet, social networks and applications such as WhatsApp to find out about how they can get there. to your final destination.
These people seek information through social networks because “they are focused on finding the safest, fastest or easiest way to get to the United States,” said Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, an immigration expert at George Mason University. “They are constantly checking” social networks.
However, immigration policies are complex and have changed a lot in recent years. Therefore, it becomes difficult to understand the legal process that must be taken to reach the United States. This is where misinformation is encouraged.
“In normal situations, people wouldn’t believe certain things,” said Fernando Garcia, director of the Border Network for Human Rights, a group that helps migrants in El Paso, Texas. “But when they’re living in fear and shock every day they’re more susceptible to any kind of information that gives them a degree of hope.”
Not all information shared on social media is wrong; Even so, there are several accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers that spread false information or partial truths.
Social media influencers amplify misinformation
Correa-Cabrera explained that disinforming narratives usually start with WhatsApp and are later complemented and amplified on platforms such as Instagram or TikTok.
“These influencers see themselves as people who know about immigration law, even if they don’t,” Correa-Cabrera said. “Sometimes they present themselves as lawyers. That’s the image they want to portray.”
This gives migrants more confidence that the information is true, even when it is not.
For example, Dario Andres Oviedo Melendez and Jose Rafael Roman Argotte have accounts on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok with more than 950,000 followers in total. They post daily videos giving updates on US immigration policies. We do not know what the intentions of Oviedo Melendez and Roman Argotte are, but the information they provide is not always correct.
On April 9, Roman Argotte posted a video on TikTok with almost 400,000 views informing his followers that as of that day “Venezuelans cannot be expelled to Mexico through Title 42,” citing a Breitbart note as a source, a right-wing news website. Title 42, a public health policy that expired May 11, allowed border agents to quickly remove migrants without giving them the chance to claim asylum.
No official announcement had been made back then that Venezuelans would be exempt from the policy. One day after the publication of Roman Argotte, a rush of migrants to the US-Mexico border arose with false hopes of being able to enter the United States.
“On social networks, on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, the news is spreading” that people could turn themselves in to US authorities to request asylum, a Venezuelan immigrant told a reporter at the border on April 10.
That same April 10, the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) denounced the information as erroneous in a tweet. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also directly told PolitiFact that the information Roman Argotte published was incorrect.
PolitiFact tried to reach out to both content creators via WhatsApp, TikTok, Instagram, and calls, but received no response. However, days after PolitiFact called and messaged Roman Argotte, he posted three videos on TikTok about disinformation on social media. In the videos, Roman Argotte directly mentions the examples PolitiFact highlighted in his posts.
Speaking about the April 9 video, Roman Argotte stated that at one point that information was “true” and “real,” and that “many people replicate the message in the wrong way.”
Changes in immigration policies encourage misinformation
On social media in general, it’s typical to see creators use changes in US immigration policy “to present a sense of urgency,” Correa-Cabrera said. Publications appear that include partial truths and that present the refugee or asylum application process as something simple and fast.
“As of May 11, people who arrive at the United States border under Title 42 will not be deported,” said Román Argotte in one of his most popular TikTok videos, with more than 17.6 million views.
PolitiFact rated this post as Majorly False; migrants will not be expelled under Title 42, because that policy no longer applies, but that does not mean that any migrant can enter the country, as the video suggests.
On June 19, Roman Argotte declared on TikTok that the misinformation in this video “is the fault of people who do not understand the message and replicate it.”
Oviedo Melendez, one of the content creators, told his followers in March that Biden had “announced a statement where Ecuadorians can come to the United States legally through the new refugee program.”
The Department of Homeland Security clarified to PolitiFact that this information is false.
Social Media Videos Promote Legal Advice
In addition to creating content on social media, Roman Argotte’s TikTok account says that he provides “legal inquiries” via WhatsApp.
On his Instagram account, Oviedo Melendez says he provides “legal advice” and calls himself an immigration “specialist attorney,” charging $20 for a 15-minute consultation, according to an automated response from his WhatsApp account.
When people ask for more information or clarification in the comments on Instagram and TikTok, the two creators reply that inquiries must be made through WhatsApp.
Both have a company registered in Florida called Dario Pfister, LLC, but neither appears to be registered as an attorney in the United States, according to a PolitiFact search.
Disinformation on social networks is part of what influences the decision migrants make about how and when to cross the border between Mexico and the United States, said García of the Border Network for Human Rights.
“There are important factors that push and attract migrants” to flee their countries, García explained. “But in some ways what solidifies this decision is misinformation.”
This reporting was produced with support from the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) “Disarming disinformation” program, a three-year global effort with primary funding from the Scripps Howard Fund.
