Who qualifies as an “influencer” because lately many people have branded themselves as “digital influencers”. That said, I believe the context in which one considers themselves as influencers matters and needs to be understood! Besides that, given the role of AI and other alogarithms that determine which content or whose content to prioritize, I would think that the owners of the social media platforms would be key targets in engaging the so called influencers to exercise responsibility when sharing health and other related information.
Examples exist where the owners have prevailed over the influencers and either cautioned them or banned them when their content infringes certain protocols! The same standards should apply to content that influences health behaviour (positively and negatively).
David
HIFA profile: David R. Walugembe is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of British Columbia, Canada. Professional interests: Implementation science; Knowledge translation/mobilization; Health policy research and systems. dwalugembe AT gmail.com
