The Latino voters are projected to hold significant influence over the upcoming presidential elections and Spanish-language network Univision has found a way to create a more informed electorate with the new Detector de Mentiras (Lie Detector).

What Is the Detector de Mentiras?

This Spanish-language Univision initiative combines the efforts of journalists and readers in hopes of verifying the statements in the 2016 presidential campaign. The Detector de Mentiras accepts suggestions from the audience, but they're particularly focused on significant issues to the Latino community including immigration, health care and education.

Alejandro Fernández Sanabria, one of the investigative journalists from the initiative, told Media Matters how the resources they provide can help the electorate during the charged voting season.

"Since Hispanics are so important for this election, they should rationally decide their vote," Sanabria explained. "This is why we try to filter objective facts from exaggerations, ad hominem arguments, imprecisions, lies and opinions based on myths and prejudices."

He added, "We hope we can give Hispanics resources for them to understand what is happening in politics, how political events can affect them, and what is true and what is false when they consume information. A well-informed citizen is a powerful citizen."

Univision's Investigative Efforts

Univision News Digital data editor Ronny Rojas revealed to Poynter that the Detector de Mentiras is not only expected to stand out as the first U.S.-based Spanish-speaking fact-checking initiative but also as one that is geared towards gaining and verifying the facts through investigative reporting.

This has been a focus of Univision in recent years with Poynter's Al Tompkins even saying, "Univision has been asserting itself as a significant player in investigative work over the past few years."

More Latino Voters Incoming

Aside from expanding their investigative initiatives, Univision is also spearheading efforts to get a huge chunk of the Latino voters registered for the upcoming elections. Last month, the company announced their goal of getting three million new Latino voters registered in 2016.

"The rule is no one can make it to the White House without the Hispanic vote," Univision's anchor Jorge Ramos said New York Times. "That's why Latino registration is incredibly important."

The 3 million mark is around the same number of Latinos who have become eligible to vote since the last elections in 2012. As part of Univision's efforts, there will be advertisements, editorials, an online voter guide and grass roots level events to urge more of the community to cast their votes in November.

It was previously projected that over 13.1 million Latinos will exercise their right to vote in the upcoming elections.