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Messaging apps like WeChat and WhatsApp are rife with political misinformation. 
 

A new study from the University of Texas analyzed the role WeChat and WhatsApp plays with election misinformation among Chinese and Indian community members in Houston, where in some counties, Chinese and Indian populations have increased by over 86% and 49%, respectively.
 

The study’s media engagement researcher, Katlyn Glover, says, “WhatsApp and WeChat are spaces for close friends and family and communities to talk. We trust our family, we trust our friends. So, we found that when information came from trusted networks, people were less likely to go and validate it from another source, or to double check it themselves.”

Additionally, many immigrants still face inexperience or language barriers to civic engagement. Lin Chen, from the Chinese Community Center at Houston’s Chinatown, said, “We are not worried about the people who are already highly educated and have their own ways to access information. It is the rest of the community we have a hard time reaching out to. They don’t know English well, and most of their social circles are limited to other Chinese immigrants. They can only get information from WeChat articles or word of mouth, and that’s when inaccurate information comes into play.”

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