Spanish-language radio has long been accused of being a conduit for conspiracies and falsehoods. In the past month alone, there have been outlandish claims ranging from Charlie Kirk’s assassination being linked to a $1.3 billion J.P. Morgan scandal to the baseless allegation that 300,000 children “disappeared” under the Biden administration. Another bizarre accusation: 15-year-old girls getting full mastectomies without parental consent in some states.
The latest one making the rounds, especially in heavily Latino Miami-Dade: Joe Biden lost the 2020 presidential election through ballot fraud. This despite those claims having long since been proven false — and despite Trump and his allies losing more than 60 lawsuit challenges in court, none of which produced evidence of manipulation.
As the 2026 midterms approach, media watchdogs are raising alarms over a sudden surge in election-related fabrications. Monitors say they are seeing an uptick in claims questioning U.S. election integrity, vilifying election workers and reviving the repeatedly debunked narrative that the 2020 election was stolen.
“These narratives are bubbling up,” said Martina Guzman, creator of Spanish-language radio monitoring tool VERDAD and an independent journalist at the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights at Wayne State University’s law school in Detroit.
“It’s very problematic for American democracy,” she said.
Launched in November 2024, VERDAD has given media watchdogs an unprecedented window into false narratives circulating on the Spanish-language airwaves. Guzman and others have been using the tool to track election disinformation.
READ MORE: VERDAD-ero: A new AI app monitors Spanish-language radio's chronic misinformation
To be sure, English-language talk radio also spreads disinformation. But critics of Spanish-language radio misinformation say it too often flies under the U.S.’s public and regulatory radar.
Media watchdogs say the false narratives tend to be even more brazen in the Spanish-language arena, spreading quickly within tight-knit communities.
READ MORE: Report Spotlights 'Under-the-Radar' Spanish-Language Radio Disinformation In Miami
On Feb. 12, VERDAD flagged a clip from popular channel Radio Mundo, or WNMA, based in Miami Springs, about the so-called “SAFE Act,” which last month passed the U.S. House of Representatives. The legislation would require Americans to show proof of citizenship when registering to vote in federal elections. While the Radio Mundo anchor correctly described the law, he falsely attributed a quote to Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
The anchor falsely quoted Schumer as saying that, if the SAFE Act becomes law, the Democrats’ “capacity to cheat in elections will be severely reduced in the future.” Though Schumer never said that, the anchor dramatically concludes in Spanish: “This truly is cynicism.”
Radio Mundo did not respond to emailed requests for comment and declined to comment when contacted by phone by WLRN.
VERDAD's Guzman says this tactic is becoming more common as the mid-terms draw nearer.
She warns this brash disinformation is especially dangerous around elections, saying the narratives could sway midterm contests, deepen divisions and endanger election workers.
“What do they do if there's somebody who's pounding on glass saying, ‘I demand to watch the votes?’” said Guzman. “There's no playbook for this.”
According to the Election Official Legal Defense Network, or EOLDN, women make up roughly 80% of election workers. And when false claims of election tampering spread, they bear the brunt of threats and harassment — often more misogynistic and severe than those directed at their male co-workers.
“For the most part,” Guzman adds, “there's no police officers at election locations, there's no people protecting them.”
The vilification of front-line election workers comes straight from lies spreading online — falsehoods that VERDAD has tracked.
On Jan. 14, 2026, Radio Mundo also falsely accused Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson of adding votes in favor of Biden in the 2020 election. The station claimed the women were recorded on video manipulating ballots.
Radio Mundo’s coverage claimed the Supreme Court failed to act on 2020 election fraud allegations, claiming SCOTUS “evaded” the issue — implying political motives — when in reality the justices dismissed the cases for lack of standing.
Radio Mundo did not respond to emailed requests for comment and declined to comment when contacted by phone by WLRN.
“This narrative affects the credibility of institutions,” said Tamoa Calzadilla, a bilingual investigative journalist and director of the consulting group Acento Story Tank.
“It affects the credibility of electoral workers. And at the end of the day, our democracy.”
The Latino community is especially vulnerable because it relies on radio more than other groups do for its news and information.
“Our communities listen to the radio and read the little local periodicito newspaper, in the supermarket,” said Evelyn Perez-Verdia, founder of communications consulting firm We Are Más in Fort Lauderdale and Latino media monitor in South Florida.
“You know what connects all of these? They're free,” she said.
Through these more accessible channels, Latino listeners often develop a strong trust in the hosts of the radio outlets’ talk shows.
“When you live here in the United States, it's so nostalgic … you only have the memories of the place that you loved,” said Perez-Verdia.
“Hearing someone with your voice, with your accent — it means everything to you. That person becomes a person of trust. But that person is not telling you oftentimes the truth.”
But Eduardo Gamarra, a professor of politics and international relations at Florida International University and a board member of the Digital Democracy Institute of the Americas, says broader forces — not just talk radio — are shaping the election.
An avid consumer of Spanish-language radio himself, Gamarra said that while misinformation plays a role, it is not the primary force shaping voter decisions.
“What the disinformation campaign serves — and we're finding this pretty much to be the case — is that it reinforces those who are already committed to vote for a particular candidate,” he said. “It doesn’t necessarily, or even in any way, convince people to vote for another candidate.”
Gamarra pointed to shifting attitudes toward Trump, citing polling trends that show a dip in his popularity and growing signs of a potential “blue wave.” A recent Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll found voters closely split on party preference for November, but Democrats hold a significant enthusiasm advantage, with 79% of registered Democrats saying they are certain to vote compared with 65% of Republicans — the party’s widest midterm turnout edge in nearly two decades.
In a recent survey Gamarra conducted among Venezuelan voters, immigration emerged as a key issue affecting support for Trump. About 26% of respondents said they would never vote for him again. Of those, 72% said their decision was influenced by having a relative currently facing an immigration crisis.
Still, media monitors encourage people to use tools like VERDAD to spot and verify misleading content ahead of the midterm elections on Nov. 6, helping them make informed decisions at the ballot box.
“Our communities deserve the truth and deserve accurate information,” said Perez-Verdia. “We just want to make sure people are aware of what we're seeing.”
