Lets guide, not guard our online spaces.

We are increasingly living our lives online and the internet helps us to stay in touch with friends, shop, play games and keep up to date with the latest news.

As more people are using social media as a source of news, misinformation has become a growing problem in recent years, especially in the online space. While it is good to be exposed to a variety of news sources and opinions, the algorithms used by social media platforms show users content that is similar to their previously viewed content. This can mean that by being exposed to one or two pieces of misinformation, provokes suggestions for more inaccurate or untrustworthy content. This becomes a problem when people start to trust and support unreliable media sources and it starts to influence their views.

There is also the issue of violent and distressing content being shared online which can upset young people or influence them.

We want to encourage people to keep the scroll honest and raise awareness of the harmful consequences of sharing false information or violent content. We all have a role in keeping information spaces safe and trustworthy and protecting vulnerable and young people.

Let’s guide, not guard our online spaces.

Social media companies have community guidelines, a set of rules that cover how people can behave on the site.

You can tell the social media company what’s happened and ask them to remove the offensive content, whether it’s a post, image, flashing image or video, or any other way it’s been sent to you online.

You can also report a user or an account if they're posting harmful or offensive information.

Find out how to report to the most popular social media platforms and what will happen next. 

The website Report Harmful Content can also help you get content removed.