In battleground Arizona, a Latino radio station takes on the fight against political disinformation

NBC News
In the battleground state of Arizona, an unlikely media player is positioning itself as a major purveyor of truth amid a landscape filled with misinformation and disinformation — most notably some Republicans' false claims of election fraud in the state during the 2020 elections.

Radio Campesina in Phoenix, part of a network of eight Spanish-language radio stations scattered throughout California, Arizona and Nevada, is aiming to dispel doubts about voting and the election process ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

On Radio Campesina's recent morning show, "Punto de Vista" ("Point of View"), radio host Osvaldo Franco was fielding questions from listeners. One person called in asking whether their vote would get lost if they mailed in their ballot.

"I love that question; I love it because you can track your ballot," another host reassured the caller. Mail-in voting had been a popular way of voting in the state until some Republicans started sowing doubts about its safety following former President Donald Trump's loss in 2020.

It’s easy to overlook the significance of stations like Radio Campesina, given today’s crowded and increasingly global media landscape. But the network’s familial bond with the Latino community dates back decades.

The Radio Campesina network was founded by the labor activist and civil rights leader Cesar Chavez in 1983 as a way to serve the needs of the Spanish-speaking community — immigrant farmworkers, truck drivers, laborers — to get news about politics, workers' rights and immigration raids, all with a little ranchera music sprinkled in on the side. Its stations reach over 750,000 weekly listeners and is owned by the Cesar Chavez Foundation, a nonprofit. MORE