Beyond Language Translation

This report explores how the digital media use and experiences of Asian Americans are shaped by various cultural, linguistic, and generational factors (e.g., age, ethnicity, education level, and political affiliation). It draws from the reported experiences of 101 youth and adults (aged 15-91) captured across 12 focus groups conducted across the United States.
 

Key Takeaways:
 

1. Asian Americans vary in their news and information interests, ranging from more local, national, and domestic news to international and geopolitical news.
2. Asian Americans are exposed to different kinds of sources and have different ideas about what makes a source trustworthy.
3. Asian Americans have differing views and understandings about how digital conversations about politics can be shaped by misinformation.
4. Misinformation is hard to define and evaluate. Digital literacy skills (and tactics to combat problematic content) varied across the Asian American groups represented.
5. Digital divides exacerbate issues of information access, especially access to government and community services and resources.
    

Recommendations and Implications:

1. While all groups encountered misinformation in their digital media use, misinformation campaigns targeting elderly, low-income, and non-English speaking Asian Americans proved especially effective at misleading their audiences.
2. This report underscores the need to contextualize problematic narratives online, especially in relation to factors such as age, ethnic group, language, education, and immigrant generation, detailing their persistence and the specific targeting of Asian Americans and vulnerable groups.
3. Gaps of understanding and gaps in the current media landscape are often exploited for destructive outcomes.
4. We call for interventions that foreground translational models and approaches beyond solely language translation and access.
5. We also call attention to the geopolitical, sociohistorical, and other contextual factors—local, national, and global—that greatly shape how Asian Americans access and make sense of their digital news and information sources.

Read the full report below.