The enormous impact of social media is unmistakable. Approximately 300 million new photos are uploaded to Facebook daily, while 6,000 tweets are sent every second. The most popular YouTube channels receive over 14 billion views weekly, and the messaging app Telegram boasts over 500 million users. However, such platforms have also been used to promote instability, spread political conflict, and incite violence. Researchers believe that organized social media misinformation campaigns have operated in at least 81 countries. This trend continues to grow yearly, with a sizable number of state-backed and private corporation manipulation efforts.
The primary objective of the project was to increase awareness and understanding of the dangers of fake news and misinformation on social media, with a particular focus on educating schoolchildren in Azerbaijan. Additionally, the project aimed to provide actionable recommendations to various stakeholders on how to leverage social media effectively while avoiding the propagation of false information.
