Karachi: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 Fou
zia Shaheen 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 YouTube 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, Fouzia Shaheen 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 Wusat Ullah 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 Asad Ijaz addressed the segmented nature of social media audiences. “Content today is curated by algorithms, which only show users what they want to see. It’s our responsibility, as a content creators, to provide accurate and reliable information to our followers. Only then can we combat misinformation and build trust.”
Geo Digital head Manzar Ilahi touched on the challenges posed by the overwhelming flow of information on digital platforms. “Misinformation and disinformation are major issues and with so much information circulating, even we often fall victim to it. Ho
wever, at Geo Digital, we’ve worked hard on capacity building and training, with a focus on fact-checking.
This is essential in ensuring the credibility of our news, Ilahi said and pointed out that serious content still has a place in the social media algorithm, though it requires adherence to certain principles.
Journalist Faheem Siddiqui shared his journey of re-entering the world of content creation. “We live in a ‘social world’ now. After leaving Geo in 2016, I briefly ventured into content creation but soon realized it wasn’t for me. However, I recently started again, and within three months, my YouTube channel gained 10,000 subscribers. The reason is simple: I talk about public issues. As a creator, if you want to be heard, you need to address public concerns, Siddiqui said and emphasized the difficulty in establishing ethical principles for social media content but stressed the importance of doing so to avoid misinformation and disinformation.
DW Urdu correspondent Mania Shakeel, content creator an
d Tik Toker Mahem, Anchor and reporter Tariq Mateen and others also presented their views regarding the topic of the conference.