Wayne State University, Law School

Wayne State University is a nationally recognized urban research institution with 24,000 students and 13 schools and colleges. As a director at Wayne State University’s Law School, Martina Guzman is a journalist that leads the Detroit Justice Reporting Initiative and created VERDAD: Verifying and Exposing Disinformation and Discourse as a part of an investigation she did on Spanish-language radio stations. With the design and engineering studio Public Data Works, VERDAD achieves charitable and educational purposes through the development of an innovative free platform for local newsrooms and journalists.

The Spanish-language Radio Disinformation Project at the Wayne State University Law School, located in Detroit, Michigan, is developing and implementing audio transcription and translation technologies to monitor Spanish-language radio stations for mis/disinformation content. The content is being collected and analyzed to determine the extent to which mis/disinformation is being broadcast to Spanish-speaking communities, particularly in the lead up to the Fall 2024 elections. The goal of this project is to identify, document, and create awareness about the intentional and targeted spread of mis/disinformation that is anti-democratic and harmful to Spanish-speaking communities. This grant provides support for the development and implementation of the Spanish-language Radio Disinformation Project.