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More than two-thirds of influencers don't check their sources before sharing information

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The Editor

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UNESCO published a survey revealing that more than 60% of content creators do not verify information before sharing it.

On November 26th, UNESCO released a new survey titled "Behind the Screens." The goal: to study the practices and motivations of content creators on social media. « Digital content creators have gained a major role in the information ecosystem, engaging millions of people with cultural, social, or political news,  » states Audrey Azoulay, Director General of UNESCO. A central presence in users' lives, but there's a significant problem: 62%, or more than two-thirds of influencers, do not verify the sources of the information they share.content. 


Relying on the popularity of an article or its distributor as truth

500 influencers from 45 different countries helped create this survey alongside a research team from Bowling Green State University in the United States. So, while two-thirds of the influencers surveyed said they don’t check the information they share, 42% indicated that “ the number of ‘likes’ and ‘shares’ an article has received ” is a marker of the truthfulness of the information. 21% don’t hesitate to reshare content if it has been shared with them “ by friends they trust.”

trust » and 19% say they relate to the « reputation » of the original information provider. News media are just the third most frequently used source by content creators.


Training Programs in Place

The problem is that there are international standards and regulatory frameworks regarding digital communications, but the majority of content creators (59%) are unaware of them. They may then find themselves victims of illegal content online: 32.3% of content creators say they have been targeted by hate speech.

Training programs specifically aimed at influencers do exist, but only 56.4% of those surveyed are aware of them, and among those, only 13.9% have participated. Yet, 73% of respondents express a desire to train. To try to address this issue, UNESCO is working on...o;is associated with the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas to create a four-week training program aimed at teaching content creators how to research information by cross-checking sources, being transparent about the sources used to create their content, and identifying misinformation.