Transcript:
The Inside Story: USA Votes 2024
Episode 162 – September 19, 2024
Show Open:
Unidentified Narrator:
This week on The Inside Story…
False claims about immigrants threaten the fabric of a small midwestern town.
And a look at the forces threatening U.S. election integrity.
Now… on The Inside Story: USA Votes 2024.
The Inside Story:
JESSICA JERREAT, VOA Press Freedom Editor:
Hello and welcome to the Inside Story. I’m Jessica Jerreat, VOA Press Freedom Editor.
We begin with another dangerous moment in what has been an unprecedented election cycle.
The FBI says that Donald Trump was the target of a second apparent assassination attempt.
Here’s Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson.
KATHERINE GYPSON, VOA Congressional Correspondent:
President Joe Biden on Monday condemned what appeared to be a second assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump.
President Joe Biden:
In America, we resolve our differences peacefully at the ballot box, not at the end of a gun.
KATHERINE GYPSON:
The U.S. Secret Service had already come under congressional scrutiny for its handling of the July 13th assassination attempt on Trump. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson telling Fox News this second incident only increases the need for change.
Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House:
I think there are some really patriotic, great people working in the Secret Service, but it’s the leadership. We have no faith.
KATHERINE GYPSON:
Trump told Fox News Digital on Monday that Democrats’ rhetoric was to blame. But Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer condemned the apparent assassination attempt Monday.
Chuck Schumer, Senate Majority Leader:
There is no place in America for political violence of any kind.
KATHERINE GYPSON:
The suspect, Ryan Routh, is accused of hiding in the bushes with a rifle outside Trump’s Florida golf course. The 58-year-old activist is a strong supporter of Ukraine in its fight against Russia. He spoke with Newsweek Romania in 2022 about the war.
Ryan Routh, Suspect in Apparent Assassination Attempt:
This conflict is definitely black and white. This is about good versus evil.
KATHERINE GYPSON:
Russia said Monday the assassination attempt was a warning to the United States.
Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin Spokesperson:
Playing with fire has its consequences.
KATHERINE GYPSON:
Law enforcement officials told reporters the layers of security added in the days after the first assassination attempt helped protect Trump on Sunday.
Ric Bradshaw, Palm Beach County Sheriff:
The system can work, because the suspect didn’t even get close to getting a round off, and we apprehended him and brought him to justice.
KATHERINE GYPSON:
Routh appeared in a Florida federal court Monday morning to answer weapons charges.
Katherine Gypson, VOA News.
JESSICA JERREAT:
During the presidential debate, candidate Trump falsely claimed that Haitian immigrants in Ohio are eating people’s pets. Now, the small town of Springfield, Ohio, finds itself at the center of a controversy, manufactured through a fake news story. Obed Lamy in our Creole service traveled there. Here’s what he found, as narrated by Elizabeth Cherneff.
ELIZABETH CHERNEFF, VOA Correspondent:
Haitian migrants living in Springfield, a small town in the Midwestern state of Ohio, are making headlines nationwide after being accused of eating residents’ pets.
The allegation, posted on social media and amplified by the Republican vice-presidential nominee, Ohio Senator JD Vance, was repeated in last week’s debate by former President Donald Trump, sparking outrage.
Haitian migrants in Ohio, like Clio, deny the allegations.
Clio Paraiso, Haitian Migrant:
I saw it on the internet. People talking about how Haitians are misbehaving. But definitely there’s no proof. Anyway, I don’t walk around town.
ELIZABETH CHERNEFF:
Although local authorities confirm there is no evidence of migrants eating pets, the rumor has prompted numerous bomb threats, forcing school closures, and is negatively affecting Haitians’ lives in Springfield.
Baptiste, Haitian Migrant:
Since we’re Haitian, when news like that is published in the media, it scares us. We’re just searching for a better life.
ELIZABETH CHERNEFF:
Another Haitian migrant, who spoke to VOA on the condition of anonymity for security reasons, says an angry resident pulled a knife on him.
Haitian Migrant:
I got a phone call, and I stepped outside with a friend. We were just standing, and I saw a guy’s truck. I wasn’t even touching it – and he came out and asked what are you doing? We said we’re just standing we aren’t leaning on your truck. The guy struck a pose like he was ready to fight. And his wife told us just leave, go back inside. So we ignored him and left, but what really stunned me is the guy turned and said ‘you f— the Haitians’ – then he pulled a knife on me.
Bryan Heck – Springfield City Manager:
Springfield is a dynamic community with many positive attributes. It is disappointing that some of the narratives surrounding our city have been skewed by misinformation circulating on social media, and further amplified by political rhetoric in a current highly charged political election cycle.
ELIZABETH CHERNEFF:
The migrant issue is complicated. It goes beyond allegations of eating pets.
There are more than 15,000 Haitian migrants living in Springfield, which has a total population of 60,000. Montae is a local resident who says the Haitian migrants are taking jobs from Americans.
Montae, Springfield Resident:
Jobs are getting took up, man. You know all these factory gigs, 50 people that could be 50 Americans that don’t have jobs instead. Instead, the Haitians take exactly all those 50 spots, man. So that’s 50 people that don’t have a job.
ELIZABETH CHERNEFF:
Ernest is a customer service representative at Adasa Latin Market. He says over 70% of his customers are Haitian and the influx of migrants has created some conflict with local residents.
Ernest, Customer Service Representative:
This is a small town. People are narrow-minded in some areas, so I can see how they would feel that way. And it’s also because people don’t know the cultural differences and how to behave in certain matters.
ELIZABETH CHERNEFF:
One migrant says he was threatened after moving to Springfield from Florida three months ago. Now he’s thinking about packing up and leaving town.
.
For VOA Creole in Springfield, Ohio, Elizabeth Cherneff, VOA News.
JESSICA JERREAT:
When it comes to the comments that Republican vice president candidate JD Vance made about some female voters – calling them “childless cat ladies” — the senator is finding it hard to shake it off.
When mega-star Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, she signed her statement “Childless Cat Lady.”
As U.S. birthrates decline and more Americans choose not to have children, some say this could be the collapse of the economy and American society. Experts say, it’s not that simple. Tina Trinh reports.
TINA TRINH, VOA Correspondent:
Americans are having fewer babies. The fertility rate is at an all-time low according to an April report by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The issue entered the presidential campaign when a 2021 clip of Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance resurfaced saying Democrats prefer pets over children.
JD Vance, Republican Vice Presidential Nominee:
We are effectively run in this country via the Democrats, via our corporate oligarchs, by a bunch of childless cat ladies.
TINA TRINH:
Vance has called Democrats anti-family.
JD Vance, Republican Vice Presidential Nominee:
If your society is not having enough children to replace itself, that is a profoundly dangerous and destabilizing thing. If you don’t have children, you do not have a future. You cannot import the next generation. You’ve got ((end courtesy)) to actually have stable, healthy, happy families.
Jennifer Sciubba, Population Reference Bureau President:
I think we should be aware that fertility rates have changed because they do fundamentally change our labor supply. They do put different types of stresses on our resources, but whether or not we should raise that to alarm, that’s a different story.
TINA TRINH:
Sciubba says fewer births could eventually mean fewer workers, which could strain the economy.
But, she adds, it’s more complicated than that.
Jennifer Sciubba, Population Reference Bureau President:
It’s never just the number of people in the workforce, it’s how well those people, meaning their skills, their education, their stage of life, is a match for the demands in the labor market.
TINA TRINH:
Others note the question may be less about numbers and more about who is having babies.
Julia Hellwege, University of South Dakota:
If you are saying that ‘I’m very concerned about declining fertility rates,’ then you must acknowledge that those fertility rates are primarily among white women, meaning that your concern is really that whites, educated women are not having children.
TINA TRINH:
Meanwhile, CDC figures show U.S. populations with higher fertility rates tend to be people of color, who also tend to have higher maternal mortality rates.
Still, overall, the rate of global population growth has been slowing for the last five decades.
Jennifer Sciubba, Population Reference Bureau President:
Globally, the total fertility rate or average number of children born per woman, is around 2.2, just barely above replacement level. And that just shows you that there are so many places in the world, In fact, 2 out of every 3 people in the world that live somewhere with the low replacement fertility rate.
TINA TRINH:
Declining birth rates in the United States could be attributed to changing attitudes. A recent study from the Pew Research Center found that 47% of adults ages 18 to 49 say they’re unlikely to ever have kids and of those, 57% say it’s because they just don’t want to.
The “Childless Cat Lady” moniker appears to be a badge of honor for some. Pop star Taylor Swift recently used it to sign off on her endorsement of U.S. presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
Tina Trinh, VOA News, New York.
JESSICA JERREAT:
With the election day now close, America’s adversaries are ramping up efforts to impact the outcome. National Security Correspondent Jeff Seldin takes us through the array of sophisticated influence operations targeting U.S. voters.
JEFF SELDIN, National Security Correspondent:
In the U.S. presidential race, the push to win over voters is in full swing.
Donald Trump, Republican Presidential Nominee:
We will save our economy. We will rescue our middle class.
Kamala Harris, Democratic Presidential Nominee:
It’s time to turn the page. Turn the page.
JEFF SELDIN:
But the competition, according to U.S. officials has been joined by Russia.
Merrick Garland, US Attorney General:
President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle, including Sergey Kiriyenko directed Russian public relations companies to promote disinformation and state sponsored narratives as part of a program to influence the 2024 U.S. presidential election.
JEFF SELDIN:
Part of the scheme, according to the U.S. indictment, included mimicking dozens of news websites to influence how U.S. voters think about critical issues.
The other part involved Russia-state backed media outlet RT – charged with funneling almost $10 million to a U.S.-based media company.
Matthew Miller, State Department Spokesperson:
To pay unwitting Americans millions of dollars to carry the Kremlin’s message to influence the US elections and undermine democracy.
JEFF SELDIN:
Russia has denied the charges.
Maria Zakharova, Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman:
This is Russophobia, this is an attack on freedom of speech, this is discrimination, and this is the dirtiest games of the U.S. and the deep state for manipulation during the electoral cycle.
JEFF SELDIN:
U.S. officials dismiss such denials as laughable.
An unclassified intelligence assessment issued earlier this month calls Russia “the most active foreign influence threat” to the upcoming election – aiming to boost the chances of former President Donald Trump.
JEFF SELDIN:
And then there is Iran.
Merrick Garland, US Attorney General:
We have observed increasingly aggressive Iranian activity during this election cycle. That includes recently reported activities by Iran to compromise former President Trump’s campaign and to avoid an election outcome that it regards as against its interests.
JEFF SELDIN:
U.S. intelligence officials say China has also been running a small-scale social media campaign aimed at hurting candidates thought to be hostile to Beijing.
But whether U.S. deterrence is working is questionable.
Margaret Talev, Syracuse University:
I don’t think so far this has really broken through as a top issue that most American voters are following, but it’s really important for voters to understand what’s going on and how they may be pawns.
JEFF SELDIN:
Giving Americans lots to think about as they get ready to head to the polls.
Jeff Seldin, VOA News, Washington.
JESSICA JERREAT:
Mis and disinformation in elections globally is rife. Cristina Caicedo Smit speaks with the News Literacy Project about the role of media in separating fact from fiction on the campaign trail.
CRISTINA CAICEDO SMIT, VOA Press Freedom Reporter:
What is the responsibility of the news organizations to fact check what each candidate says, and why is it important?
Christina Veiga:
News organizations all have different ways that they deal with this, but fundamentally, a credible news organization is dedicated to accuracy and to facts and to reporting things in a way that is not biased, that’s as fair as possible. And so, you know, there might be different debates within the journalism community about how to handle statements made by candidates, that sort of thing. But ultimately, what you’re looking for as a news consumer is that the news organization is dedicated to accurately informing you, without trying to persuade you about anything about what’s going on, so that you can make your decision about voting on based on facts and based on the things that are important to you.
CRISTINA CAICEDO SMIT:
What are those steps that people can do to verify their information and to make sure that what they’re reading, you know, is being fact checked, and it’s been, you know, sourced?
Christina Veiga:
There are things that we can all do to protect ourselves online. We can all make sure that we don’t participate in sharing and spreading this information. You can do a quick fact check for yourself before you decide to believe something.
Basically, a lot of misinformation is designed just to be divisive and to really get you to feel a strong emotion. And so anytime that you’re seeing a claim online that really taps into those feelings or seems really designed to drive wedges between people. That’s a good a good time to pause and to think, is this really true, what I’m seeing.
Part of the goal of people who are out there spreading this stuff is to make it harder for people to understand what to believe, and to kind of give you, get you to give up, and so you should not give up. Just a quick pause, a quick search, can go a long way to helping make sure that you are informed, and that your community and the people who you love around you are all informed, which is especially important in an election year where we’re all going to vote.
CRISTINA CAICEDO SMIT:
Do you think AI has made this work more difficult for journalists? You know, this speed which you know, stories can be created, photos can be, you know, tampered has it make it more hard?
Christina Veiga:
Ai definitely adds another layer of confusion, is difficulty to trying to understand what’s real or what’s not. But the good news is that all of the same skills apply, whether you’re a journalist or a news consumer. When you see a claim online and checking multiple credible sources to see what they say about whether it’s true, that’s something that a journalist would do, and that’s something that a news report, a news consumer can do for themselves, doing a quick search to see what the original source of an image is, that can go a long way to helping you decide whether something’s AI generated or not.
And so it definitely requires more attention and effort from news reporters and news consumers. But again, it’s not a lost cause. It’s not impossible. It just might take a little extra diligence, a little extra diligence for people to try to find out.
JESSICA JERREAT:
The race for the White House remains tight. But Harris has opened a sizeable lead over Trump among one group of voters: women. And they tend to vote at higher rates than men. As Dora Mekouar reports, Harris’ late entry into the race has only widened the gender gap.
DORA MEKOUAR, VOA Correspondent:
Since 1984, more women than men have voted in U.S. presidential elections. And, for the most part, more of them vote for Democrats than vote for Republicans. Vice President Kamala Harris’ sudden entry into the race following President Joe Biden’s July withdrawal appears to have fired up this voting bloc.
Erin Covey, The Cook Political Report:
We have seen a pretty significant shift across a lot of different demographics, but it went with women in particular, who are now much more likely to vote for the Democrat at the top of the ticket than they were when it was Biden.
DORA MEKOUAR:
This election year, roughly one-in-five women say abortion rights is their key issue. In 2022, Supreme Court justices nominated by then-President Donald Trump helped eliminate constitutional rights to an abortion. Trump wants each state to decide abortion laws. Harris wants federal legislation to protect reproductive freedom nationwide.
Chloe Longmire, Wisconsin Voter:
She’s trying to create a world where people all have their rights to their own decisions, their bodies, their choices. Women’s rights.
Leticia Guillen, Arizona Voter:
I like the message that she’s for the people — which is the middle class — which I am middle class. And the laws about women’s rights.
DORA MEKOUAR:
Among female voters, the latest polls suggest that Harris leads Trump by anywhere from nine to 13 points.
Paul Maslin, Pollster at FM3:
She gained a lot of younger women who are independents, nonpartisan voters under the age of 50, many of them under 40, who really got excited by her candidacy.
Erin Covey, The Cook Political Report:
Black women are a lot more likely to vote for Harris now. Hispanic women. So, as we have seen her do better with a lot of these specific racial demographics or educational demographics, we have seen with women, that is really where that shift is coming from.
T. Stanley, Georgia Voter:
First, her being the candidate, it’s kind of, it’s really, this is, like, horrific to me, because first of all, she’s not prepared to be president.
Alex Lustig, Montana Voter:
All of a sudden, Kamala Harris is the nominee for the Democratic Party when she would never be nominated in the first place. She came out of nowhere.
DORA MEKOUAR:
The gender gap persists among younger voters in Gen Z, where a majority of men under the age of 27 favor Trump, according to pollster David McLennan of Meredith College.
David McLennan, Meredith College:
There has been an increase in terms of the admiration of some Gen Z young men for, you know, swagger. It’s very much a macho, punch-them-in-the-face thing.
DORA MEKOUAR:
McLennan says young men are politically socialized by online sources, where they often see and hear unflattering opinions about female leaders.
David McLennan, Meredith College:
They believe that women can’t make the tough decisions if the United States were to go to war or face an international crisis. They don’t believe that women have the ability to be tough, to make a tough call.
DORA MEKOUAR:
White women were key to Trump’s victory in 2016. He also won a majority of white women in 2020. In this race, the latest polls show Harris and Trump statistically tied among white women.
Dora Mekouar, VOA News, Washington
JESSICA JERREAT:
Disinformation in Spanish-speaking communities is spreading through the U.S. But a collaborative project is working to set the record straight. We return to Press Freedom reporter Cristina Caicedo Smit for the story.
CRISTINA CAICEDO SMIT, VOA Press Freedom Reporter:
From correcting mis- and disinformation about immigrants to explaining how and where to vote, Hispanic news outlets in the U.S. have their work cut out for them.
Claudia Ginestra, El Tiempo Latino:
We are in an election year. People are searching for more information and asking more questions. When we post a story, we always get questions about it.”
CRISTINA CAICEDO SMIT:
Washington-based El Tiempo Latino reports on stories important to the U.S. Hispanic community and uses social media to reach their audience.
Claudia Ginestra, El Tiempo Latino:
Well, right now all vertical content is very important, as well as short videos. I think that is the fastest and most efficient way to reach people.
CRISTINA CAICEDO SMIT:
The Pew Research Center has found Latinos predominantly access news via the internet and social media.
And a Nielsen study says this community favors WhatsApp, Telegram and Instagram.
Audiences want answers, says Ginestra.
To provide audiences with the information they need, El Tiempo Latino uses fact-checking tools or enlists the help of its partner, Factchequeado.
Founded in 2022, the non-profit monitors mis- and disinformation in the news in the Latino and Hispanic community in the United States.
Laura Zommer, Factchequeado Co-Founder:
Looking ahead to the November elections, Latinos have a lot of challenges, and those of us who seek to serve them and inform them also have challenges.
CRISTINA CAICEDO SMIT:
One of those challenges is the use of AI.
Laura Zommer, Factchequeado Co-Founder:
For example, in videos on TikTok, we see that a video is published with a disinformation narrative and then we see two other videos with the same narrative, but with a different host but saying exactly the same thing.
CRISTINA CAICEDO SMIT:
Another challenge is keeping on top of all the disinformation.
Laura Zommer, Factchequeado Co-Founder:
One narrative that appears a lot has to do with an almost conspiracy theory that claims that [undocumented] migrants are voting.
CRISTINA CAICEDO SMIT:
Speed is key to debunking these false narratives, which travel quickly on social media, says Zommer.
But Factchequeado has a powerful tool at its disposal: collaboration. It has brought together dozens of partners in 22 states. Big and small newsrooms — like El Tiempo Latino in Washington — use Factchequeado to verify information.
Marcos Porras, El Tiempo Latino:
Politics without a doubt is a topic where we see that Latinos or Hispanics are poorly informed or are misinformed … But we do see that our audience likes to read and learn.
CRISTINA CAICEDO SMIT:
Part of the efforts to educate readers includes explainer videos about the U.S. electoral process, to fill information gaps. Otherwise, bad actors can take advantage and fill that void with disinformation, says Zommer.
Cristina Caicedo Smit, VOA News.
JESSICA JERREAT:
That’s all for now. Thanks for watching.
For the latest news you can log on to VOA news dot com. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook at VOA News.
To get all the Press Freedom related content, follow me on X at Jessica Jerreat. Catch up on past episodes at our free streaming service, VOA Plus.
I’m Jessica Jerreat. We will see you next week, for The Inside Story.
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