I found it hard to believe at first, but the United Nations website leaves no doubt about it: the UN recruited more than 100,000 ‘digital first responders’ worldwide during the corona crisis. Melissa Fleming, head of global communications for the United Nations, also described its function in a podcast: to detect and neutralize “misinformation” and “fake news” on social media as quickly as possible by countering it with “accurate, reliable information”.

The UN campaign also states it clear: digital first responders use their voice for good [sic], by providing life-saving [sic] information. The ‘digital first responder’ thus forms an addition to the now well-known ‘fact checker’. However, unlike the fact checker, the digital first responder doesn’t get paid and the UN doesn’t disclose who is working for them. Why not? Perhaps for this reason: whatever strategies these volunteers use, the UN’s image won’t suffer.