On Sept. 26, Free Press and the Latino Media Collaborative (LMC) hosted a webinar to discuss the proliferation of racist lies on social and mainstream media. Jessica Gonzalez of Free Press moderated the conversation, and panelists included DDIA ED Roberta Braga, along with Vanessa Cárdenas of America’s Voice, Arturo Carmona and Esperanza Guevara of LMC, Jennie Carreón of the Carreón Group and Anshantia Oso of Free Press’ Media 2070 project.

“These narratives, these stories that get told about the world, are sometimes massively twisted … ,” said Braga. “One approach to countering disinformation, from our perspective, is not getting bogged down in the specific claims, but rather tackling the meta-narratives.”

Meta-narratives are the broader patterns at work — for example, the false claim that immigrants of color are destroying our society.

The dynamic conversation equipped hundreds of attendees with useful tactics to confront these ugly assertions before they do further damage to our communities. If you find yourself facing mis- and disinformation — and odds are you will — I’d encourage you to view the recording to learn how you can debunk lies and manipulation … and head them off at the pass: