We are in a fight for our democracy and the amount of misinformation and disinformation in our various communities is rampant. There are complex networks specifically targeting Black communities and sowing seeds of dissention and apathy in the political process. Luckily, Esosa Osa, founder and CEO of Onyx Impact, has founded an organization to help fight adverse information in order to strengthen our community.
Osa is clear that information opens doors. She said, “Black people deserve resilient information sharing ecosystems that build trust, power and community. Adverse information — information created to mislead or harm — doesn’t just close doors, it builds walls of distrust and disillusionment.” What we witnessed in the past election cycles, at all levels, was specific targeting of Black communities with information that was distorted, an outright lie, or intended to suppress the vote.
Onyx Impact seeks to map and understand the Black information landscape. Just as we know our money has power, so does the way we process information, both political and otherwise. Onyx also seeks to expose adverse information networks and operations targeting Black communities. Onyx empowers Black communities by investing in Black media and Black Gateway influencers and platforms. Healthy and accurate information is necessary for Black people to make informed decisions from good faith entities.
As we move forward in uncertain political terrain, we must do so with as much accurate information as possible. So many people rely on social media as their primary source of news. Indeed, social media can introduce one to ideas and debates that may not be readily in their respective information circles. However, it is important for us to work a bit harder and find media outlets from verified and trusted and well-versed sources. As technology and the use of artificial intelligence and ChatGPT become more sophisticated, we must take the extra steps to be sure the information we receive (and share) is accurate.
So how do we move forward? As always, we must have a plan. We must invest in our political and media education by spending time reading articles by trusted media sources, not just opinion leaders. We must invest and support Black media since it is those outlets who are literally investing in the future production of Black knowledge. We must also be careful not to inadvertently spread false information. Take the extra moment to check the source of information before spreading it far and wide to your various family and friend circles.
Many of us have elections in our various cities and states this year. Others are beginning to gather information about candidates and issues for the 2026 midterms. We are in serious times and we must be deliberate about gathering and disseminating correct information to our communities.
Christina Greer, Ph.D., is an associate professor at Fordham University; author of book “How to Build a Democracy: From Fannie Lou Hamer and Barbara Jordan to Stacey Abrams” and “Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration, and the Pursuit of the American Dream” and is co-host of the podcast FAQ-NYC.
