The majority of social media influencers share information with their followers without verifying its accuracy, according to a new U.N. report that was released on Tuesday.
The new study, done by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), found that nearly two-thirds of surveyed digital content creators, 62 percent, said they did not verify the accuracy of information before sharing it with their followers online.
This comes after a recent poll from the Pew Research Center found that around 1 in 5 Americans, 21 percent, get their news from social media influencers. With those under the age of 30, the numbers rose to 37 percent.
In the UNESCO survey, around one-third, 33.5 percent, would share content without making sure they trust the source or the creator of the information. Some 37 percent of those online influencers said they checked the content before distributing it to their audiences.
Popularity, the share of likes and views of the online content, was the main way creators vetted the credibility of the source, the study found. More than 4 in 10 content creators, 41.6 percent, use popularity to judge the credibility of the online source.
Just more than 20 percent of creators determined the credibility of online sources based on whether it was shared by a trusted expert or friend. The third most common way, 19.4 percent, was looking at the publisher’s or author’s reputation. Some 17 percent relied on documentation or evidence to gauge the credibility.
“As audiences increasingly turn to digital content creators to access information, the need for creators to prioritize accuracy becomes even more critical. Misinformation and disinformation can quickly erode trust, leading to skepticism and disengagement from followers,” the researchers wrote.
The study comes following the 2024 U.S. presidential election where both major party candidates, Vice President Harris and President-elect Trump, at times, relied on social media influencers to share their message and reach new voters.
Nearly 6 in 10 creators, 58.1 percent, used their personal experiences and encounters as a source for their content, the UNESCO survey showed. Nearly 4 in 10, 38.7 percent, said the source was their research or interviews with people familiar with the subject matter, according to the study.
The study was done between August and September this year among 500 content creators from 45 countries around the world. The influencers had to have at least 1,000 followers.
