Two new episodes of violence against Argentine citizens were recorded in New York, amid the international campaign by the left that sought to establish during the World Cup that Argentine society is racist and turn that collective accusation into a justification for harassment.
In one of the videos disseminated by La Derecha Diario, an African American man and other American citizens confronted and attacked a couple wearing Argentina National Team jerseys in the New York subway. Before the aggression, those involved accused the victims of being “racists” for supporting the team.
A second recording showed another violent situation involving American citizens against Argentines. Although no further details about the circumstances leading up to both incidents were disclosed, the images became known as similar reports began to multiply in other countries.
The events in New York add to a series of assaults reported by Argentines residing in Spain after the World Cup final. The Association of Argentine Migrants Residing in Spain (MARES) reported that it received between 24 and 26 complaints of beatings, insults, workplace harassment, and other forms of harassment.
Among the most serious episodes reported by the organization is the attack on a young Argentine who was allegedly stabbed in the throat at Puerta del Sol in Madrid, days after the match between Argentina and England. There was also a report of a man beaten by six people after being identified for wearing the National Team jersey.
Nicolás Cabrera, president of MARES, clarified that it was not a massive phenomenon within a community of approximately half a million Argentines, but warned about the seriousness of the cases. He explained that the physical attacks were preceded by a strong campaign of "dehumanization" on social media, accusing Argentines of a history of racism that never existed.
The leader stated that manipulated videos using artificial intelligence and posts blaming all Argentines for racism and xenophobia circulated. From that discourse, generalized accusations of “racism” and even “genocide” against an African American population that never arrived in the country began to emerge.
What began as a digital campaign of fake news ended up spilling over into public transportation, workplaces, and the streets of various cities. Paradoxically, the progressive narrative ended up enabling a new form of xenophobia against Argentine citizens who are attacked solely for their origin, their accent, or for wearing their country's jersey.
