China threat? How can websites boost public trust and confidence?

While China’s latest stimulus measures have been welcomed, analysts said officials needed to do more to help the economy, particularly the battered property sector – Copyright AFP STR

China, according to the New York Times, is reportedly employing tactics similar to those used by Russia in the 2016 election, with covert accounts posing as U.S. citizens to spread misinformation and influence the U.S. general election.

In support of the media focus, the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence issued a threat assessment stating: “Beijing is expanding its global covert influence posture to better support the CCP’s goals. The PRC aims to sow doubts about U.S. leadership, undermine democracy, and extend Beijing’s influence.”

This underscores the importance of account verification measures in social media platforms to prevent such manipulation of public opinion and political processes.

A survey conducted by the pollsters Media.com, involving over 1,000 participants in the U.S., discovered that 60 percent of social media users endorse mandatory user identity verification in order to counteract the dissemination of fake news by imposters and automated bots. The poll also found that 76 percent of people are hesitant to engage with such information.

On the other hand, some 67 percent of users of social media exhibit increased trust in platforms enforcing these verification measures.

“Although some social media companies such as X offer a form of profile verification for users who pay for it, many people want a more stringent level of identity verification,” Media.com founder and CEO James Mawhinney explains in a statement.

This brings Mawhinney to conclude: “We believe that one way to protect and empower our users in the age of misinformation is to disallow fake profiles.”

Social media users are advocate various strategies to address misinformation risks, including universal fact-checking (57 percent), mandatory user identity verification (55 percent), and stringent penalties for spreading falsehoods (42 percent).

There are different ways to foster integrity and accountability among its users. Some examples are the approaches of: KYC (Know Your Customer) and KYB (Know Your Business), both of which are established verification standards.#

Here the KYC focuses on conducting business with individuals, whereas KYB relates to building trusted relationships with corporate customers.

The survey was conducted by NSRC Market Research and involving 1,005 active U.S. multi-social media users aged 18 and above.