5/29/2023 0 Comments Nguy vu radio![]() ![]() ![]() Pham almost convinced her mom, who previously worked in the healthcare industry, to get vaccinated, but her friends talked her out of scheduling an appointment.Ĭookie Duong, a 23-year-old TikTok creator and cofounder of the Interpreter, an initiative that works to translate news articles from reputable media outlets into Vietnamese, said she’s received thousands of comments from young people who relate to her TikToks about struggling to pull her own family away from YouTube. “She’ll watch a couple videos, and then she’ll call one of her friends to talk about it before she goes to bed,” Pham said. Her mom was introduced to the channels when YouTube’s algorithm placed them in her suggested video list after the two started watching clips from the popular Vietnamese musical variety show Paris by Night. “She thinks the vaccine won’t work on anyone who’s not a caucasian male, because the videos said they only used cells from male fetuses for testing,” Pham explained, frustrated she’s been unable to convince her mom otherwise. In Southern California, Michelle Pham, a 22-year-old nursing student, is worried about her 54-year-old mom who has sworn off the vaccine ever since The KingRadio incorrectly told her it contains aborted fetus cells. In Connecticut, Peter Lai’s parents also won’t get vaccinated, pointing to YouTube videos that falsely told them that COVID-19 can be cured with vitamins and oranges. The problem has left many increasingly worried about their parents’ safety.Ĭalvin Truong, a 15-year-old from California, has hidden his older sister’s vaccination from their dad, who believes the vaccine is deadly and regularly threatens to “flee to Texas” if the state makes vaccines mandatory. While groups like PIVOT have launched efforts to address the misinformation, many young Vietnamese Americans told BuzzFeed News that they’ve faced language barriers and pushback when they criticize misinformation online. Political organizers who spoke with BuzzFeed News said they’ve heard from concerned family members who say these YouTube videos play all day in their homes and that the channels put their audiences in danger.īui recalled a recent online town hall where questions about the vaccine were filled with misinformation pulled from YouTube, including concerns about vaccines containing government tracking devices. The group recently surveyed where community members were getting information, and the sources cited included an array of YouTube channels and outlets like the Epoch Times. “They see YouTube and Facebook as a big brand, so if it’s on YouTube, it must be OK,” Diep Tran, the managing editor of Viet Fact Check, told BuzzFeed News. Because of the vacuum, they said, many people turn to YouTube channels and Facebook livestreams that post daily content in Vietnamese that feels familiar and reliable but often contains misinformation. Organizers and family members who spoke to BuzzFeed News cited language barriers and the vacuum of credible news channels that broadcast in Vietnamese and English as the key factors for the widespread issue. Elena Hernandez, a YouTube spokesperson, said the company’s approach to addressing misinformation applies "across all languages.” According to YouTube, Vietnam frequently appears within the top 10 countries for videos removed, but the company did not provide data for Vietnamese-language content in other countries. YouTube removed some of these videos when BuzzFeed News reached out for comment. They’ve also capitalized on the country’s political divide and spread misinformation about last summer’s Black Lives Matter protests and the 2020 election. They have spread a range of conspiracy theories surrounding the pandemic and vaccinations, including lies that people who wear masks are more likely to contract the disease, that the COVID-19 death toll has been exaggerated, and that more people have died from receiving the vaccine than from COVID-19. The YouTube channels have become ubiquitous in some Vietnamese homes. “If you spoke to any young Vietnamese American now, they’ll probably talk about how horrified they are about what their parents are watching,” said Anh Thu Bui, a board member of the Progressive Vietnamese American Organization (PIVOT), a group of progressive organizers who launched Viet Fact Check, a volunteer-led project to fact-check misinformation. Young Vietnamese Americans are desperately trying to counter social media algorithms and far-right YouTube personalities that have pulled their families into conspiracy theories, strained relationships, and caused paranoia about the safety of vaccinations. ![]()
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