Politico Called Out for Report on Democrats Claiming Conservative Spanish Radio is Being Flooded With Fake Anti-Kamala Callers

Jackson RichmanDec 22nd, 2021, 3:26 pm
 
WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 22: Vice President Kamala Harris speaks about Covid-19 vaccine equity in the South Court Auditorium at the White House complex November 22, 2021 in Washington, DC. The White House announced Monday a $1.5 billion initiative aimed at shoring up healthcare access in rural and underserved areas. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Politico has come under fire for publishing on Tuesday what appears to be a dog-bites-man article about an allegedly coordinated campaign of people in South Florida calling into radio stations to blast Vice President Kamala Harris.

The piece – headlined “Democrats riled by Spanish-language radio attacks on Kamala Harris” and written by White House reporters Christopher Cadelago and Eugene Daniels – leads with “Florida Democrats are sounding alarms over what they believe is a sustained and coordinated campaign rapidly unfolding across Spanish-language media to tarnish the image of Vice President Kamala Harris.”

However, as the eighth paragraph stated, “There is no definitive proof of a coordinated campaign attacking Harris on South Florida radio, as opposed to organic criticism of her conveyed by regular callers.”

The next two paragraphs read:

POLITICO did record and review segments of local programs independently via a radio station’s webcasts. In one, a male caller can be heard describing Harris as “inefficient” and “disappointing,” adding that the vice president “doesn’t do nothing at all.” The same caller jumped from one point to another before finally accusing the administration of poorly managing the economy. In recent days, a POLITICO reporter also heard callers on other Miami-based Spanish-language programs using similar phrases to describe Harris.

In POLITICO’s review of two prominent Spanish-language stations, hosts and callers sharing critiques of Biden still outnumbered Harris. There were sporadic attacks on Anthony Fauci, the president’s chief medical adviser, too.

The article also noted:

Curiosity over who may be behind the targeting of Harris on radio is owed, in part, to the belief that Republicans are trying to bloody her up politically should [President Joe] Biden not run for reelection. Last year, Biden himself faced Spanish-language disinformation and partisan propaganda in the state across WhatsApp chats, Facebook pages and popular radio shows.

…

The diversity of Florida’s Latino population — from emerging blocs of people with Puerto Rican, Nicaraguan, Colombian, Dominican and Venezuelan backgrounds that lean Democratic to its large Republican-leaning Cuban community in Miami-Dade — remain a major focus of political campaigns in the state. Miami has long been viewed as a pilot market for messaging to Latino voters, with more potent content often exported to other areas around the country.

On Twitter, Giancarlo Sopo, who served as rapid response director for Spanish-speaking media on the 2020 Trump re-election campaign, and Florida-based GOP operative Jonathan Torres took issue with the article, pointing out that it examined conservative radio stations.

Other Twitter users added to the pushback to the piece.

Daniels, Cadelago and Politico White House editor Sam Stein did not respond to a request for comment on the pushback. A Politico spokesperson told Mediaite that it stands by its reporting.

“We stand by the reporting. The piece makes clear to readers that that there is no proof of a coordinated campaign against the Vice President and that the calls could very well be organic in nature,” said the spokesperson. “The story also makes clear that some Democratic operatives in the state believe that it is an astroturf effort and includes a quote from a radio host at Actualidad who shares that belief. Finally, the story notes that we recorded radio episodes and heard them ourselves in an effort to stand up these claims.”

This is not the first time Politico has faced complaints for its Harris reporting. Earlier this month, the outlet was blasted for reporting on the vice president’s use of wired earphones as opposed to wireless accessories due to national security fears.

In June, Politico reported on friction in Harris’s office. This was followed by similar reporting months later from numerous other outlets.

UPDATE 4:20 pm ET: Sopo slammed Politico for standing by its story:

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