Latino exile communities across the United States are confronting a surge of misleading claims portraying Vice President Kamala Harris as a communist.
These assertions have proliferated since she became the Democratic vice-presidential candidate, with many accusing her of socialist or communist affiliations, according to Factchequeado, the largest Spanish-language fact-checking organization in the U.S.
Experts say these narratives exploit the “genuine fears” of voters who fled authoritarian regimes in countries like Cuba and Venezuela.
One particularly viral video falsely depicts Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, posing in front of a banner for the Revolutionary Communists of America, a far-left group.
The video, which was altered by a pro-Trump group known as the Dilley Meme Team, garnered over 420,000 views and was widely circulated on Spanish-language social media platforms.
“This doubt is everywhere: ‘Is this person a communist?’” said Evelyn Pérez-Verdía, a cultural context strategist from South Florida, who heard the doctored video being discussed on the Miami-based Spanish-language radio station La Nueva Poderosa.
After informing the station that the video was fake, the hosts clarified on air that the story was “not true,” but added that it “doesn’t take away from the reality that Kamala is a Marxist.”
With nearly 36.2 million eligible Latino voters—about 14.7% of the U.S. electorate—residing in key swing states like Nevada and Arizona, this demographic is crucial for both major political campaigns.
Historically, Latinos have leaned toward the Democratic Party, with 44% voting for Joe Biden in 2020, compared to 16% for Donald Trump.
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However, recent polls suggest that Republicans are gaining ground, citing issues like the economy, immigration, and abortion rights as key concerns.
Political messaging warning about “socialism” and “communism” has been particularly effective in areas with significant Cuban and Venezuelan populations, such as South Florida. Samantha Barrios, a Venezuelan-American Democrat based in Miami, believes these communities are particularly susceptible to misinformation due to their traumatic experiences fleeing oppressive regimes.
She criticized right-leaning Spanish-language media for exploiting these fears to “scare Venezuelans, Cubans, Nicaraguans” by evoking memories of the regimes they fled.
Barrios also warned that legitimate concerns about U.S. foreign policy toward Cuba and Venezuela are being weaponized through “false claims” that Kamala Harris is a communist.
Pérez-Verdía echoed these concerns but also criticized the Democratic campaign for failing to adequately address these fears. “Don’t laugh off people’s fears. It’s disrespectful. People have genuine fears; they came to the United States and left everything behind. If they have doubts, you should address their doubts,” she said.
The Digital Democracy Institute of the Americas (DDIA), which monitors over 1,300 WhatsApp groups and more than 200 Telegram channels in Spanish and Portuguese, has observed that these claims are not solely targeting Latinos.
Since 2020, right-wing and pro-Trump figures have amplified the “fear of socialism,” according to the organization.
Laura Zommer, founder of Factchequeado, noted that while Joe Biden was also accused of being a communist during his campaign, her team has “never” seen such a high volume of AI-generated and doctored images as they have in this election cycle.
Some of this misinformation has been spread by prominent figures, including Trump himself and his supporters. Elon Musk, who has endorsed Trump, posted a doctored image of Harris in a red uniform with a hammer and sickle, captioned, “Kamala vows to be a communist dictator on day one. Can you believe she wears that outfit!?” The image received over 83.9 million views.
Similarly, Trump shared an AI-generated image of Harris addressing a communist rally, which garnered at least 81.5 million views on X (formerly Twitter).
According to a report by the DDIA, posts linking Harris to communism spiked online following a presidential debate in which Trump labeled her a “Marxist” and claimed her policies would turn the U.S. into “Venezuela on steroids.”
Following the debate, the term “Marxista” trended on social media, and Google searches for “Marxist” in the U.S.
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