Wayne State University Law School’s Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights received a $350,000 grant to expand a disinformation tool, “VERDAD: Verifying and Exposing Disinformation and Discourse.”

The AI-powered tool monitors U.S.-based ethnic radio stations for disinformation in Latino media.

VERDAD Founder and journalist Martina Guzmán says the tool will expand to all 50 states in multiple languages and also globally.

“Oftentimes, people think there’s going to be like, this commercial that’s complete disinformation. And what happens is on Latino radio stations, on ethnic radio stations, people have talk shows. And on those talk shows, it is often those people that host the talk shows that are spreading disinformation,” she says. 

Guzmán says the tool began monitoring Latino radio stations in battleground states ahead of the 2024 election.

“We felt that the election would be won or lost in those states at the time. And that was the capacity we had that we could do these eight battleground states and maybe a few more,” she says. 

The grant was awarded to the Wayne State University Law School’s Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to expand its reach of languages and locations.

Guzmán says the tool works as a civil rights safeguard to empower voters.

“The tool records 24 hours a day, and once it hears misinformation, right? And it hears it based on hundreds and hundreds of disinformation keywords that we’ve uploaded into its system. And once it hears one of those words, it begins to really focus… it has an analysis component,” she says.

Since the VERDAD tool’s inception last year, more than 320 academics and journalists have registered to use the free tool on Verdad.app to write articles and research trends of LatinX voters.

The tool will add several languages, including Arabic, Haitian Creole, and Vietnamese to inform voters.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, Michigan chapter, reports an increase in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement sightings in metro Detroit.

CAIR-MI officials say community members have seen ICE vehicles in Wayne County. ICE also announced an increase in enforcement in the area.

CAIR-MI advises community members to be vigilant and aware of their rights, including asking to see a warrant and remaining silent except to request an attorney. The civil rights organization says people should have emergency contacts memorized and plans in place for their family members in case of an emergency. 

Additional headlines from Monday, November 17, 2025

Hamtramck Elections

The Wayne County Board of Canvassers decided Friday not to count 37 ballots from Hamtramck’s mayoral race found in the city clerk’s office the day after elections. The board still has to count 120 cured ballots in the race, which could swing the vote in either direction.

Mayoral candidate Adam Alharbi sued opponent Hamtramck City Councilman Muhith Mahmood alleging residency fraud. The votes will be certified by tomorrow November 18.  

Closing parishes

The Archdiocese of Detroit announced a two-year process to reconstruct parishes in Southeast Michigan.

Archbishop Edward J. Weisenburger said over the weekend that there has been a decline in Catholics attending Mass, in ordained priests and “participation in the sacraments.” The changes include downsizing from 200 parishes which once served 1.5 million Catholics to today’s population of about 900,000 worshipers, half of whom he says are not baptized nor attend Mass regularly.

Weisenburger says there are also several aging church buildings and a shortage of priests. The new structure will move from a Families of Parishes model to a “pastorate” model, grouping one or more parishes into a single pastor’s team.

Parishioners will have opportunities to share their input through two listening sessions at each parish. The new changes will be announced in early 2027. Changes will take place by July 2027. Restructuring can be monitored at restructuring.aod.org.  

Keith Center grant to expand AI tool 

Wayne State University Law School’s Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights received a $350,000 grant to expand a disinformation tool.

The VERDAD: Verifying and Exposing Disinformation and Discourse AI-powered tool monitors U.S.-based ethnic radio stations for disinformation for Latino media. The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation awarded the grant to develop and enhance the tool. The expansion includes adding more states and adding languages including Arabic, Haitian Creole, and Vietnamese.

The award-winning journalist Martina Guzmán founded the tool. Guzmán says the tool works as a civil rights safeguard to empower voters. Since the VERDAD tool’s inception last year, more than 320 academics and journalists have registered to use the tool.  

Healing asthma event  

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, Michigan chapter, is hosting a program for people with asthma.

HEAL Asthma MI is a free program to help Michigan residents with resources and tools. Participants must be medically diagnosed with asthma, be 18 and up and face challenges to getting fair or equal health care.

To sign up, contact 248-406-4254 or email aafahealasthma@gmail.com. 

Free turkeys

The Islamic Center of Detroit is hosting a Turkey distribution this weekend.

The distribution takes place Saturday, Nov. 22, from 1-4 p.m. The mosque is providing halal turkeys. The Islamic Center of Detroit also has a food pantry open every Saturday from 2-5 p.m., located at 14350 Tireman Street in Detroit.  

The Cody Rouge Community Action Alliance, in collaboration with the Oak Pointe Church, is hosting a Turkey Giveaway on Monday, November 24 at 10 a.m. People can pick up a free turkey at the Brennan Pool Building at 21415 Plymouth Road in Detroit. First-come first-served.  

If there is something happening in your neighborhood that you think we should know about, drop us a line at DetroitEveningReport@wdet.org.

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