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Transcript/Script((PLAYBOOK SLUG: PF Misinformation Haiti Diaspora
HEADLINE: Haitian Diaspora Newspaper Combats False News
TEASER: With surge in misinformation around immigration and crime, The Haitian Times helps audiences sort fact from fiction
PUBLISHED AT: 10/23/2023 at 1:10pm
BYLINE: Cristina Caicedo Smit
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: New York, NY
VIDEOGRAPHER: Alexander Barash
VIDEO EDITOR: Cristina Caicedo Smit
SCRIPT EDITORS: Page, MAS, djones approved
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA
PLATFORMS: WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO _X_
TRT: 3:06
VID APPROVED BY: MAS
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES: NOTE For Press Freedom/WEB use FULL version. ))
((INTRO)) [Increasingly Haitians in New York are confronted with misinformation on everything from immigration to crime. But a trusted diaspora newspaper is fighting back. From Brooklyn, New York VOA’s Cristina Caicedo Smit has the story.]
((NARRATION))
Beware: The Haitian Times targeted in parole scam …Eight things you need to know about the controversial Haiti-DR canal.
These headlines in The Haitian Times are part of the diaspora newspaper’s efforts to warn readers about misinformation being spread on social media and messaging apps.
The two-decade old newspaper, based in New York, published the stories alerting Haitians about false news.
((Vania Andre, The Haitian Times Publisher)) ((Female in English))
“There are moments in time where there will be videos going viral on WhatsApp, on social media, showing, let's say, Dominicans of Haitian descent being targeted in Dominican Republic, getting dragged out of their cars. All of these like images and videos, they're sent via socials, sent via WhatsApp without any context.”
((NARRATION))
The newspaper’s publisher, Vania Andre, says most of the misinformation is focused on U.S. immigration policies as Haitians flee violence and instability.
((Vania Andre, The Haitian Times Publisher)) ((Female in English))
“Unfortunately, the situation has deteriorated quite quickly within the past couple of years. So, people are constantly looking for information on immigration and that vulnerability opens them up to being conned and just misinformation [is] running rampant.”
((NARRATION))
Her team also focuses on criminal cases and scams targeting Haitians who make up diaspora communities in New York, Massachusetts and Florida.
Such scams have even targeted The Haitian Times, with false rumors spread online that the newspaper could help migrants find sponsors, says Andre.
With a population highly engaged on messaging apps like WhatsApp, misinformation among the Caribbean diaspora can spread further, according to a report by the Center for Media Engagement at the University of Texas at Austin.
So, Andre’s team is in a race against the clock.
((Vania Andre, The Haitian Times Publisher)) ((Female in English))
“We can never be as quick, as fast as information being shared on WhatsApp and Twitter and all of these platforms.”
((NARRATION))
The Haitian Times team works to combat misinformation by going to cultural events, churches, community centers and gatherings to talk to people
((NARRATION))
And a digital team follows trends online, checking to see which stories are being shared and scrutinizing that information.
((For radio: Cherrell Angervil is the audience engagement director for The Haitian Times))
(Cherrell Angervil, The Haitian Times)) ((Female in English))
“And so, there's a lot of extra stuff going on. But we give you two straight facts. You know, there's no lying, there's no fabricating stories. So, I like that about us.”
((NARRATION))
Other strategies include reaching out to second-generation Haitian Americans, so they can talk to family members about fake stories …
And the distribution of an immigration newsletter that seeks to set the record straight on policies of the Joe Biden White House to assist Haitians.
((Vania Andre, The Haitian Times Publisher)) ((Female in English))
“So, the newsletter was really born out of us seeing all the interest, misinformation, and questions that folks had around immigration policy, particularly tied to the Biden parole program.”
((NARRATION))
With so much at stake for Haitians at a time of instability, this diaspora newspaper has found being present in the community is one of the best ways to help its audiences find a trusted source of news.
((Cristina Caicedo Smit, VOA News, New York.))
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