Speakers in a “Social Media Influencer Conference” stressed the need for formation of the code of ethics so that flow of misinformation and the disinformation could be discouraged. If code of ethics not to be formed, Government would have no other option but to introduce strict laws affecting freedom of speech.
The speakers were highlighting their views in a one day conference themed “Social Media Influencers, ethics of authenticity and production of content” organized by Women Media Centre (WMC) Pakistan in collaboration with Washington based National Endowment for Democracy (NED). Influencers should maintain responsible behaviour towards society as due to heavy flow of the information, social media influencers were spreading disinformation, speaker said.
The conference brought together leading journalists, social media influencers and digital media experts to discuss the growing influence of social media and the pressing need for ethical guidelines in content creation. Executive director WMC FouziaShaheen while opening the conference said according to data there were 71.7 million active social media users in Pakistan which is 29.5% of total population of the country. YouTube is Pakistan’s most-used social media platform in 2024 with a potential audience of 71.7 million.
The YozTube audience were 64.6% of total internet users (111 Million) in Pakistan and 29.5% of the total population (242.8 Million) in Pakistan, she added. While giving data, FouziaShaheen further revealed that in Pakistan, 68.41% of web traffic by the device is through mobile phones. While 30.74% of web traffic is from laptops and desktop computers. This is a huge number and there was need to educate social media influencers, rather imposing a ban. We have to started dialogue with social media influencer as to form a code of ethics, create positive role in the society, she said adding that different of opinion was not issue, but importance must be focused on the facts.
Senior journalist WusatUllah Khan, set the tone for the conference by highlighting the ethical challenges posed by the rapid growth of social media. He stressed that “social media users must responsibly create their content. Ethics are being challenged by cash for views, clicks and thumbnails.
We need to establish a code of conduct and it is essential that influencers and media figures guide the public towards content that is backed by research, evidence and ethical standards.” Emerging podcaster AsadIjaz addressed the segmented nature of social media audiences. “Content today is curated by algorithms, which only show users what they want to see.
