Excellence in Online/Digital Journalism - Engagement
Lam Thuy Vo; Other contributors: Mai
Như Bùi;
Puertas
Maria,
“Languages of Misinformation,” The Markup
ABOUT THE WORK: This series about the impact of misinformation on the Vietnamese community spread quickly across the diaspora. Within a few days, Lam heard from Vietnamese immigrants in the Bay Area and Houston and YouTube channels invited Lam to contribute her work. A Vietnamese-language national broadcaster based in Orange County translated a follow-up story by Lam, about a grandmother who became a YouTuber to combat misinformation in the Vietnamese community. Researchers asked to replicate Lam’s YouTube data analysis and workshops.
The author writes: “The project was designed to engage the Vietnamese community. Our initial story served both as a way to identify misinformation problems in the community and a way to also assess the information needs that were not met. We followed up by providing the exact kind of information that our community asked for (basic information around health and housing, news sources in Vietnamese and tools for equipping them to find their own information).
“As the series advanced, we spoke with people who were already working to combat misinformation in the Vietnamese community. We worked with YouTuber Mai Bui, a 67-year-old grandmother and retired engineer with no formal journalism training, to tell her story in English and Vietnamese. Instead of writing about her, we brought her voice into the series.
“We also engaged second-generation Vietnamese immigrants, those who grew up in the U.S. and have slowly seen their parents drift away from them: We wrote a guide for Millenials and Gen Z to help them speak to their parents. The piece resonated beyond the Vietnamese community, with readers from other AAPI communities reaching out to tell us that reading the guide really helped them speak with their parents.”
Lam Thuy Vo is a journalist who marries data analysis with on-the-ground reporting to examine how systems and policies affect individuals. She is currently a reporter with The Markup and an associate professor of data journalism at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism. Previously, she was a journalist at BuzzFeed News, The Wall Street Journal, Al Jazeera America and NPR’s Planet Money.
Judges’ comments: “One judge wrote: The Markup's ‘Languages of Misinformation’ series brilliantly tackled misinformation on YouTube, hitting home for the Vietnamese and wider AAPI communities. By teaming up with Mai Bui, a 67-year-old YouTuber grandma, and crafting a guide for younger Vietnamese Americans, the work didn't just tell a story—it gave a platform to real voices and bridged generational gaps. The multi-layered approach to connecting with the audience sets the work apart, making it a standout choice for the category.”
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