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Young influencers challenge disinformation in Latin America

22/04/2020
Montevideo, Uruguay
16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
17 - Partnerships for the Goals

With millions of followers on their social networks, they warn about the danger of amplifying unverified content and encourage them to commit to responsible habits

"I think that everyone in our lives has been the victim of something called 'disinformation' thanks to an aunt in the family group ... it is something to avoid at any cost" says Colombian Natalia Giraldo from her Instagram account, while grimacing and inserting jokes in her message. "A little time ago I saw a video from UNESCO to prevent disinformation" continues the young woman from that social network, where she summons more than one million of followers from all Latin America.

Disinformation, that is, unverified content that is amplified at the speed of light by social networks, became one of the most damaging collateral consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. Millions of people around the world resolve actions and make decisive decisions based on incorrect data that they receive daily on their mobile devices, but whose authenticity no one corroborates.

In order to try to mitigate the negative impact of this phenomenon, UNESCO created an alliance with a group of influencers - young Latin Americans with millions of followers on their accounts - to dialogue with their audiences about the seriousness of sharing unverified content through social networks.

Through an animated video, the main recommendations that promote correct habits when playing news were shared, which also tried to help stop the cycle of disinformation in the digital world.

The strategy focused on the power of dissemination of these young people and on the tone of closeness that they emit in their messages, so that other teenagers, when listening to them, can also reflect on good practices to replicate. As a result of the initiative, more than half a million people interacted with the misinformation post made by these young people.

In this sense, the personal format of the Instagram stories was used so that each influencer could explain the phenomenon from his own point of view and with his own lexicon, always respecting the substance of the message to be transmitted: be calm, do not replicate anonymous data chains, check information with reliable sources and stop your friends if you see that they are feeding the cycle of disinformation.

You already know them?

Here we introduce you to the influencers committed to quality information. Join this initiative and share quality content in your digital environment. Follow them and stay connected with the recommendations.