Paris (Web Desk): The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), has issued a crucial warning about the need for social media influencers to enhance their fact-checking practices to prevent the spread of misinformation.
A recent report highlights that two-thirds of content creators do not verify the accuracy of their posts, leaving both influencers and their followers vulnerable to misleading information.
The findings, based on the UNESCO ‘Behind the screens’ survey conducted with Bowling Green State University, reveal that 63% of influencers lack structured fact-checking procedures.
Moreover, many influencers rely on social media metrics, such as likes and shares, to assess the credibility of information, with 42% using these as primary markers.
Additionally, 21% of influencers share content based solely on trust in their friends who posted it, while only 36.9% turn to traditional journalism for verification.
As social media influencers increasingly serve as key sources of news and cultural insights, the report underscores the challenges they face in managing the flow of disinformation and online hate speech.
Despite this, only 20.4% of influencers know how to properly report such incidents. Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO’s Director-General, emphasized the growing importance of training digital content creators to navigate these complexities effectively.
In response to these issues, UNESCO has teamed up with the Knight Centre for Journalism in the Americas to launch a groundbreaking global training initiative for influencers.
This four-week course, designed to teach source verification, fact-checking techniques, and how to collaborate with traditional media, has already attracted more than 9,000 participants from over 160 countries.
With 73% of creators expressing a desire for such training, the program aims to build a community of responsible digital communicators who prioritize the integrity of the information they share.
