Friday, 26 June 2020 | Worldwide | Department of Global Communications (DGC)
The UN's Verified initiative aims to combat misinformation - both about the global health crisis and the ensuing socio-economic crisis - and to encourage solidarity on the road to recovery with a focus on building back better and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Stop the spread of misinformation
During the iSeek Live held on 3 June, Melissa Flemming, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications, and Maher Nasser, Director, Outreach Division in DGC, briefed UN staff about the Verified initiative.
Staff were encouraged to support the UN’s effort to counter the “infodemic” by signing up as information volunteers at shareverified.com.
It’s not too late to join the thousands of people who receive a regular email with verified content to share with other colleagues and on social media networks.
Pause. Take care before you share.
We know that misinformation is spread and accelerated through personal networks. Research suggests that encouraging people to stop and think about the accuracy of information before instinctively sharing it can significantly decrease the spread of misinformation. This break in time also serves to permit emotional factors to subside, a key factor in the spread of hate speech.
Join us on 30 June
Please join our next major step in the Verified initiative on 30 June and participate in the planned spike moment that aims to interrupt the spread of misinformation at the moment individuals are thinking to share the content with people around them.
The ask is simple - every time you receive something that you are tempted to share, remember the slogan: Pause. Take care before you share.
30 June will also be key in creating a second wave of signups of information volunteers for the campaign.
Together we can flood the internet with the hashtag #takecarebeforeyoushare and create momentum and impact. Join us.