Migration and misinformation

In October of 2022, I stood at the border between Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and El Paso, Texas, and watched as small groups of individuals scrambled down, and then up, the banks of the Rio Grande. They came every five or ten minutes, in groups of three to ten people, and handed themselves in to Customs and Border Patrol as they arrived on the US side. What moved me most was seeing how many of them pulled out a cell phone and held it in front of their faces as they climbed up the north banks of the river, recording themselves as they finally arrived on US soil after a long and difficult journey. I thought of the friends and family who would see the video of this triumphant moment, and wondered if it might inspire them to make the same trip.

Later that week, traveling along the US/Mexico border, I met with migrant shelters and advocacy organizations, many of whom told me that people were arriving in the US with very little, or very bad, information about what awaited them in the United States. A few months later, in the Panamanian jungle, I spoke with migrants shocked by the difficulty of the journey across the Darien Gap—some had been told it was a relatively easy crossing that would take only a few days, when in fact the journey is long, physically exhausting and, sometimes, deadly.

Misinformation has become a global phenomenon in the last decade or so, and migrants are no more immune to it than any of us. A few months ago, the MCC Migration Observatorio met to talk about how misinformation is affecting both people migrating and people in sending and receiving countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. This post contains observations, analysis, and recommendations from the Observatorio and from recent visits to shelters and organizations working with migrants.

What is misinformation?

• The term “fake news” became a household phrase in 2017, in the lead-up to and aftermath of the 2016 US presidential election. We often think of fake news as deliberately false information, or facts that are true but have been presented in a way that is deliberately misleading. This type of misinformation—literal “fake news”—has skyrocketed in the past decade or so, as more and more people get information from unverified social media sources and, at the same time, malicious actors fabricate and aggravate divisions in already polarized societies.
• Misinformation can take many forms, ranging from outright lies to journalistic errors to subtle manipulations of societal narratives. It can range from slightly modified informal accounts of life in a new country to blatantly hostile campaigns that stoke racism and xenophobia.

How does misinformation affect migration?

• The “American Dream”—the narrative that anyone regardless of their background can achieve success in the United States if they only work hard enough—is still a powerful cultural force in countries around the world. People who grow up watching movies and TV shows that reinforce the American Dream often have little practical information to counteract this powerful narrative.
• Canada enjoys an extremely powerful international reputation as a “good” country, especially compared with high-profile incidents of racist violence and school shootings in the United States. Justin Trudeau’s 2015 “refugees welcome” tweet was taken at face value by people around the world. Based on these factors alone, many people believe that Canada is more open and welcoming to migrants, and that it is easier to migrate to Canada than to the United States.
• Municipal, state, and federal governments, especially populist governments throughout the Americas, have carried out campaigns accusing migrants of taking jobs and increasing violence. Migrants have been used as a political boogeyman to reinforce nationalist narratives and consolidate support among those who fear economic downturn, increasing violence, or loss of national identity.

• People smugglers, coyotes, and other industries that have evolved to serve migrants have an economic interest in convincing people to take the journey. Many will make the journey sound easier than it is, by, for example, downplaying the difficulty of the Darien Gap. Some have been accused of making it sound like a “family vacation” rather than a potentially deadly slog.
• Migration policy is confusing and changes frequently. It can be difficult for even those who work in migration to keep track of the most recent policy changes. Migrants may not know the consequences of attempting an irregular crossing, or of accepting asylum or residency in a country other than the one they ultimately want to reach.
• News, including migration news, frequently circulates through informal networks and social media, like WhatsApp and TikTok. Rumors are sometimes taken as fact, and the source of the information discarded and forgotten.
• People who have arrived in a new country, or a new region, often want to present their new life in the best possible light. When they talk to families and friends about how things are going, like many of us, they may prefer to downplay their challenges and highlighting their successes. This can give family and friends the idea that life in their new home is easier than it is.

If we just tell people that migration is hard and opportunities for resettlement and asylum are slim, won’t they stop migrating?

• What we believe is not simply a reflection of the facts we have access to, but of our understanding of the world and our place in it. Our beliefs and desires are deeply rooted in our identities, and so challenging those beliefs means challenging not only the information you have access to you, but the very core of who we believe we are. If someone believes that they can achieve anything if they try hard enough, or that God has a plan for them and will protect them from all danger, it will take more than just statistics to convince them otherwise.
• Many migrants have no particular desire to leave their home, but feel they have no other option. In many cases, they are in truly desperate situations, facing threats of violence if they remain in their hometowns and cities. In many sending communities, opportunities are extremely scarce—harvests are failing as the climate changes, and jobs are increasingly difficult to come by in contexts of skyrocketing inequality. In these cases, almost any other situation is seen as an improvement over current circumstances, and people in these circumstances will take desperate measures to provide a better future for their families.
• Many migrants have a deeply rooted faith, whether in a higher power or in the power of the human will. Some evangelical Christians, for example, believe that God will provide whatever they pray for, and that message is reinforced by churches that preach the prosperity gospel. This can be a powerful motivator that helps migrants get through the darkest parts of the journey; it can also encourage some people to take unnecessary risks and disregard well-founded warnings.
• Traveling from South America, or farther, to the US-Mexico border is a tremendous undertaking. After spending enormous amounts of money, suffering injuries, illnesses, and worse, and traveling far from home, it can be difficult to change plans and accept that things may not work out as hoped.
• Many people do arrive at their destinations, even if the journey is difficult and the arrival not much easier. Seeing the success, or apparent success, of friends and family is a powerful motivator.

So what can we do to address the dangers of misinformation for migrants and host societies?

• Governments can accept that migration is a normal part of the human experience, and rather than attempting to stop it, create safe and dignified pathways for legal migration that are easily accessible to people that want to migrate, and ways for migrants to integrate and start contributing to their destination countries as quickly and easily as possible. This way, migrants will not be forced to undertake clandestine journeys, information about which is scarce and unreliable.
• News platforms can learn about the dangers of sensationalism and reinforcing negative stereotypes about migrants. They can seek out stories that go beyond the trauma narrative by telling stories about successes and contributions made by migrants and hire migrant journalists to cover their own communities.
• Governments, news platforms, and NGOs providing services to migrants and host societies can work on deconstructing rather than destroying myths about migration, understanding that what people believe about migration is closely tied to their worldview and sense of self.  
• NGOs and government agencies in receiving countries can work with arriving migrants on managing expectations. A good example is this document from Canada’s Refugee Sponsorship Training Program.  
• NGOs and government agencies can make sure reliable information is available, accessible, and presented with the goal of helping people make the best decision for them, rather than dissuading them from migrating altogether. This means designing information for the population in question—for example, communicating over WhatsApp rather than directing people to a text-heavy government website, making sure information is available in Indigenous and Creole languages, and taking into account internet speeds and access in the remote rural areas many migrants leave from.

The MCC Migration Observatorio is made up of MCC staff working on migration issues throughout the Americas. Special thanks to Brian Dyck, Rachel Diaz, Francisca Pacheco, Cesar Flores and Lizette Miranda for their presentations on the theme of migration and misinformation.