The COVID-19 virus is talked about a lot, but fully trusted pandemic information might be difficult to find. In order to remedy this, the United Nations Department of Global Communication launched the 'Verified' campaign in May. The initiative is specifically designed to battle the spread of misinformation and it called on "information volunteers" who would pledge to share UN-verified and science-backed content with people, both online and offline.
The point of 'Verified' is to bring trusted pandemic information, life-saving advice, and even stories "from the best of humanity." People can opt-in to be an "information volunteer" on the www.shareverified.com platform.
For this project, the UN collaborated with Purpose—a leading social mobilization organization. The partnership was supported by the IKEA Foundation and Luminate.
Image Credit: United Nations
Why This Trend Is Growing
- Trusted Information Sharing
- Initiatives that focus on sharing trusted information to combat misinformation can disrupt the industry of online information sharing.
- Social Mobilization
- The partnership between the UN and Purpose shows that social mobilization can be a powerful tool to combat misinformation.
- Community Involvement
- The 'Verified' campaign's emphasis on recruiting 'information volunteers' highlights the need for community involvement in combatting disinformation.
Industries Being Reshaped
- Online Information Sharing
- The 'Verified' campaign highlights the need to ensure that information shared online is verified and comes from a trusted source.
- Social Mobilization Organizations
- The partnership between the UN and Purpose highlights the potential for social mobilization organizations to play a key role in combating misinformation.
- Philanthropic Foundations
- Initiatives like 'Verified' depend on funding from philanthropic foundations like the IKEA Foundation and Luminate.
