Should influencers be held to the same standards as journalists?
Where civilized and educated discussions are rarely conducted and positively achieved online, youth debate show “YSpeak 2.0” challenges its viewers to broaden their horizons and think from the position of the other. The goal isn’t necessarily to win, but rather to allow your ideas to be scrutinized as you consider the experiences and lived realities of the one in front of you.
For its pilot episode, co-hosts Elijah Canlas and Ralph de Leon kicked things off with a hotly contested topic: whether or not influencers should be held to the same standards as journalists.
After all, in today’s social media landscape, internet personalities usually have far greater reach than traditional media outlets. Because they are people with their own opinions, beliefs, and imperfections, they can also be susceptible to spreading fake news. And we’re not simply talking about run-of-the-mill influencers. We’re also talking about politically-charged content creators and commentators who are prone to biases.
Of course, that’s what you might expect from someone who isn’t necessarily trained the way a journalist is. But when close to a hundred million Filipinos browse the internet, and roughly 67 percent of them rely on social media as their source of information and news, that could pose a huge problem.
The on-the-ground reality vs. what ought to be
Not everyone has access to the same sources of information. Whereas some can watch the news on television, some may only have their phones and social media. Because of this lived reality, for Canlas, influencers should at least be expected to fact-check any statements or content that constitutes anything newsworthy.
However, when everything is held to the same standard, this may unintentionally create chaos where everyone can be a journalist, and anything can be a source of information. Though that simply isn’t the case for De Leon, who believes that we should put a premium on the work journalists put out.
“Kailangan ‘yong journalist ang number one source of information ng taumbayan... Journalists are held to a certain standard, held to a certain code of ethics, that makes them the ones to go to for information that is credible,” shares De Leon.
Though that isn’t always reflected on the ground. According to a 2025 survey by Publicus Asia, mainstream media faces the challenge of “rebuilding public confidence amid rising concerns over biased reporting and misinformation.” Meanwhile, according to The Conversation, social media influencers have built their audiences based on content that is seemingly authentic and all too relatable—leading audiences to tend toward subjective yet authentic-seeming reporting rather than cold hard facts.
Blurred lines
In a 2025 study, “Journalists vs. Influencers: Who Shapes Public Opinion Today?” author Sofia Martinez further clarifies the difference between the two: While traditional journalism has built up a reputation for credibility, waning public trust has fostered skepticism toward media outlets.
Not to mention, with the necessary steps involved in reporting, from fact-checking to sourcing, this has led to their content being outpaced by influencers who can simply post in real time.
“Influencers often enjoy high trust within their follower base, but this trust doesn’t always stem from expertise,” Martinez adds. “Instead, it arises from perceived authenticity. However, this dynamic can be a double-edged sword: Misinformation can spread quickly when influencers share unverified opinions.”
So who should be the one to adjust? While influencers are fallible individuals with their own biases and beliefs, they should strive to fact-check their statements and content, as you would expect from any private individual. While they may not necessarily have the requisite training or expertise, having platforms as huge as theirs comes with a certain level of responsibility with it.
“Training enhances quality, but it doesn’t monopolize ethics. The lack of training cannot justify the lack of accountability [for influencers],” says Mariane Aguimbag, a legal management student from Lyceum of the Philippines Manila, who was also present in the televised debate.
But at the same time, the challenge also falls upon journalists and media outlets to reinvent themselves amid a changing information landscape. People no longer only look to newspapers and online articles for their news. But it also isn’t simply about being faster and creating easily accessible and digestible content on social media—it’s about having voices audiences can not only relate to but wholeheartedly believe in, on top of the cold hard facts.
And perhaps, it’s not about who should be held to whose standards. After all, be it influencers or media outlets, we’re all sides of the same coin that can learn a thing or two from one another.
