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A left-wing marketing agency used by several states with Republican governors has launched a woke study supposedly aimed at travel and tourism among Americans of Hispanic origin or background.
The “first-of-its-kind study” will concentrate research on the “intersectionality” of Latinx travelers, according to a press release from MMGY Global.
Latinx is a term largely used by white progressives to describe people more commonly called Hispanic or Latino. MMGY, including its subsidiary public relations agency MMGY NJF, defines it as a “gender-neutral term” for the “many races and ethnicities” that are widely called Hispanic.
Even liberal news outlets such as NBC News and The New York Times have decried use of Latinx. NBC described the term as a way “to express inclusiveness and recognize the sexual, ethnic and racial diversity of Hispanics.” The headline of a commentary in USA Today was titled, “Progressives, Hispanics are not ‘Latinx.’ Stop trying to Anglicize our Spanish language.”
A survey from the Pew Research Center found that only 23 percent of so-called Latinx respondents have heard of the term before, The Washington Post reported. By contrast, 90 percent of respondents in the same survey self-identified as Hispanic or Latino.
Clients of MMGY or MMGY NJF include South Dakota under Governor and likely 2024 Republican presidential candidate Kristi Noem and the Texas Office of Economic Development and Tourism under Governor Greg Abbott.
In the case of South Dakota, MMGY NJF’s contract with the state Department of Tourism is valued at over $20.7 million in taxpayer money, according to state documents.
MMGY NJF was founded by Democrat Nancy Friedman, who has a history of contributions to the Democratic National Committee and now-Vice President Kamala Harris.
The study is titled “Latinx U.S. Travelers: Observations and Insights on Themes of Diaspora and Intersectionality.” Profits from the study’s sale will be donated to Travel Unity, which MMGY’s press release described as a “diversity, equity and inclusion” nonprofit organization that “advocates for Latinx communities.”
The study is co-chaired by journalist Jeanette Ceja, whose Twitter feed seems more concerned with promoting left-wing identity politics than stories carrying her byline.
UPDATE: A representative from Visit Florida reached out to confirm that MMGY had falsely listed the agency as a sponsor. MMGY has now removed this from their press release.
An earlier version of this story also claimed that the South Dakota agency also “potentially collected commissions of 15 percent on more than $5.8 million in television advertising that Noem ran on the Fox News Channel and other channels in 2020.” After discussions with the office of Governor Kristi Noem, we understand these ads were paid for by the marketing firm Lawrence & Schiller. The author regrets the error.
Ben Kew is English Editor of El American. He studied politics and modern languages at the University of Bristol where he developed a passion for the Americas and anti-communist movements. He previously worked as a national security correspondent for Breitbart News. He has also written for The Spectator, Spiked, PanAm Post, and The Independent
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Ben Kew es editor en inglés de El American. Estudió política y lenguas modernas en la Universidad de Bristol, donde desarrolló una pasión por las Américas y los movimientos anticomunistas. Anteriormente trabajó como corresponsal de seguridad nacional para Breitbart News. También ha escrito para The Spectator, Spiked, PanAm Post y The Independent.