UNESCO: Most Influencers don’t Check Information Sources

 Havana, Nov 27 (ACN) The United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization (UNESCO) said that six out of 10 influencers (youtubers) do not check the veracity of the information they spread, something that must be corrected.

In a recent statement, the UN entity shared the results of a survey revealing that 62 percent of digital content creators do not verify what they publish; however, 73 percent of them are willing to learn how to do it, PL news agency reported.

UNESCO general director Audrey Azoulay said that influencers occupy an important space within the information ecosystem as they spread cultural, social or political news stories which reach millions of people.

However, she said, many of them face misinformation and hatred discourse, so they ask for support. She added that the organization will support those on-line communicators with what she called “media and informative literacy” through specific courses.

The first of these international courses will kick off in November with a registration of over 9 000 people from 160 countries.

According to UNESCO, the conducted survey included 5 thousand influencers from 45 countries. The action was backed by the Bowling Green State University, in the USA.