According to a new report by UNESCO, 62% of content creators on different digital platforms do not fact-check news before talking about it. The report talked about practices and motivation among content creators and what challenges they are facing in the world of digital media. It was based on 500 influencers from 45 countries and covered major things about content creators. Among other things, it was also revealed that content creators do not verify facts and information before sharing it with their audiences.
33.5% of the content creators said that they share the information if they trust the source or original platform it was posted on, while 15.8% said if they find a news or information entertaining, they share it without checking its accuracy. However, there were also influencers (36.9%) who said that they check the authenticity of the source or information before sharing it with their audiences.
The survey showed that even if some influencers may find it important to fact check information, some of them do not care about the accuracy of something they are sharing online. Those who were surveyed were also asked how they check the credibility of online sources. A majority (41.7%) said that they check the number of likes and views of the content to evaluate if it is credible or not. 20.6% said they trust the information of it is shared by their friend or an expert, while 19.4% said they evaluate the credibility of the information by the reputation of author/publisher.
The report by UNESCO also found that 59% of influencers are unaware of any global standards or frameworks when it comes to digital communication. Even though 56.4% said that they know about some training programs, only 13.9% said that they enrolled in them. This shows that many content creators and influencers are not aware of legal and regulatory conditions of digital communication in different countries.
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33.5% of the content creators said that they share the information if they trust the source or original platform it was posted on, while 15.8% said if they find a news or information entertaining, they share it without checking its accuracy. However, there were also influencers (36.9%) who said that they check the authenticity of the source or information before sharing it with their audiences.
The survey showed that even if some influencers may find it important to fact check information, some of them do not care about the accuracy of something they are sharing online. Those who were surveyed were also asked how they check the credibility of online sources. A majority (41.7%) said that they check the number of likes and views of the content to evaluate if it is credible or not. 20.6% said they trust the information of it is shared by their friend or an expert, while 19.4% said they evaluate the credibility of the information by the reputation of author/publisher.
The report by UNESCO also found that 59% of influencers are unaware of any global standards or frameworks when it comes to digital communication. Even though 56.4% said that they know about some training programs, only 13.9% said that they enrolled in them. This shows that many content creators and influencers are not aware of legal and regulatory conditions of digital communication in different countries.
Read next:
• From Facebook to Pinterest: How Social Networks are Handling External Links and Traffic Shifts
• Why Is Online Fraud Soaring? Are Social Media Apps the Real Culprits Behind the Surge?
