El Cabal, Vacunas, y Donald Trump: An Analysis of Spanish-Language Disinformation Leading Up to the U.S. Capitol Insurrection

Abstract

The January 6 Capitol insurrection highlighted the central role conspiracy and disinformation play in motivating political violence among the right wing in the United States. In this article, the spread of Spanish-language disinformation by right-wing media in the United States is explored from a cultural and intersectional perspective. We analyze the mythological and dramatic narratives in content from a Spanish-language conspiracy website posted between the 2020 election and the Capitol insurrection. These narratives are explored through the lens of the deep story, which is the epistemological basis of U.S. conservatism. We argue that the deep story and right-wing conspiracy culture are highly flexible and can appeal to certain non-White audiences online. We then interrogate right-wing U.S. Latina/o/x political identity through an intersectional analysis of the conspiracy culture exemplified in the disinformation from the website.

Brazilian Capitol attack: The interaction between Bolsonaro’s supporters’ content, WhatsApp, Twitter, and news media

“…Attacks on the electoral system have implications for worldwide democracies, as it could be extremely risky if the blueprint laid by Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro were followed in other political contexts. Disinformation about the alleged election fraud and a "rigged campaign" contributed greatly to the Brasília attack (Deliso, 2023), as was the case in the U.S. Capitol attack (Soto-Vásquez & Sánchez-Santos, 2022). An important factor for this study is the use of nationalist discourse features that pit "patriots" (those loyal to the far-right populist leader) not only against their fellow citizens but also against democratic institutions.…”

Factchequeado: Fake News in Spanish Knows No Borders

“…There has been little research on disinformation in Spanish as it spreads in the U.S. However, [4] examined Spanish-language disinformation in the United States related to the 2020 election leading up to the January 6 insurrection. They looked at nosmintieron.tv, a Spanish-language conspiracy website.…”

Popular Culture as an Educative Site Regarding the January 6, 2021 Insurrection: Grappling With Complexity Through Intersectional Analyses a Special Issue of Cultural Studies ↔ Critical Methodologies

“…Jordan and Dykes (2022) demonstrate how the speech and other messages meant to mock and exclude those with non-dominant bodies are part and parcel of America’s settler colonial project. The volume then moves to Soto-Vásquez & Santos’s (2022) work, which examines the ways disinformation has been propagated on Spanish-language websites. In so doing, the article shows how the White supremacist rhetoric at the heart of the conservative movement functions hegemonically.…”