How to fight against online misinformation ? We know that publishing involves responsibilities. Often alone, the authors have very diverse backgrounds and are not all aware of codes respectful of a certain ethics. The ecosystem is very disparate. During a press conference held on November 26, UNESCO presented the results of an unprecedented global study “Behind the Screens” on the behavior of influencers regarding the dissemination of information on social networks. This report analyzes the motivations and practices of digital content creators, as well as the challenges they face. She involved 500 influencers from 45 countries, with the expertise of a specialized research team from Bowling Green State University (United States).
2/3 don’t check the facts
“This diversity of profiles is very vast. Everyone who relays information on subjects that interest them wear different hats. This study gives a broad definition of a content creator, namely any person who regularly publishes content online for the public with at least 1000 subscribers, or 80% of authors. », Specifies Adeline Hulin, head of the media and information education pole at UNESCO. Their main motivation is to share knowledge before making money or entertaining. Thus, nano influencers rub shoulders with stars in the industry. “ The 10 most followed people in the world each have an audience of 500 million people. The development of these audiences is a positive trend which improves the diversity and plurality of content,” says Tawfik Jelassi, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Communication and Information. However, 62% of content creators do not systematically fact-check before putting them online. Besides the fact that fact-checking is not the norm, the survey shows that content creators struggle to determine the best criteria for assessing the credibility of information they find online. Thus, 42% of respondents use as their main indicator “the number of likes and shares that an article has received” on social media. 21% have no reluctance to share content if it has been communicated to them “by friends they trust”, and 19% say they trust “the reputation” of the author or initial distributor of the content . Mainstream media is only the third most common source (36.9%) for content creators, after their own experience and their own research and interviews. Only 37% rely on traditional media.
Lack of awareness of risks
The survey also reveals that a majority of them (59%) are unaware of international standards and regulatory frameworks relating to digital communications. Only a little more than half of respondents (56.4%) are aware of the training programs intended for them. And only 14% of those who know them participated. “This lack of awareness can place digital content creators in a situation of legal uncertainty, exposing them to prosecution or even convictions in certain countries. It also prevents them from asserting their rights when they themselves become victims of illegal content online,” the report said. For example, 32.3% say they have been the target of hate speech. But, among them, only 20.4% reported it to social media platforms. “Digital content creators have acquired a major place in the information ecosystem but many of them struggle to confronting misinformation and hate speech onlineand are demanding more training,” says Audrey Azoulay, DG of UNESCO.
The educational response
While 74% of respondents are in need of training, UNESCO and the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas (United States) have partnered to develop a first-ever global course delivered over a month, in collaboration with digital journalists. “How to become a trusted voice on the internet? » aims to empower content creators to combat disinformation and hate speech, and provide them with a solid foundation of knowledge on global legal standards for freedom of expression and information. The content of this training has been designed by experts in media and information literacy, in close collaboration with leading influencers from different regions of the world. The training, which opened a month ago, has to date recorded more than 9,000 people from 160 countries have registered and are currently following it. They will learn to search for information using a wide range of sources; evaluate and verify the quality of information; be transparent about the sources that inspire their content; identify, explain and report misinformation, disinformation and hate speech and finally collaborate with journalists and traditional media to give more visibility to fact-based information.
Source: www.e-marketing.fr
