Top photo: (l to r) Dean Tom Reichert, Dana Sultanescu, Ana Cristina Ruelas of UNESCO, Chair Coordinator Randy Covington, and UNESCO Fellow Dan Sultanescu are pictured in Bucharest, Romania, where data from USC’s Global Opinion Tracker used in UNESCO’s World Trends Report was presented for the first time.
The University of South Carolina College of Information and Communications is playing a prominent role in one of UNESCO’s most influential publications, the newly released World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development report. The publication was a multiyear effort that analyzes the state of press freedom, information integrity and emerging media challenges around the world.
The CIC’s involvement is part of its strategic efforts to showcase the capabilities of its social media insights lab and elevate the college’s presence on the global stage.
CIC UNESCO Chair Coordinator Randy Covington served as lead editor of the global document and UNESCO Fellow and former Fulbright Scholar at USC, Dan Sultanescu, contributed the original research for the report’s technology chapter.
Sultanescu’s research involved a four-country public opinion study conducted in the United States, Mexico, South Africa and Romania. The findings reveal that AI tools are widely recognized and, in many cases, trusted more than government, business or the press, and offer a rare global snapshot of public attitudes toward AI adoption, regulation and its impact on democracy.
This latest collaboration reflects a growing partnership between the college and UNESCO. The relationship began in 2021, when the CIC produced its first report for the organization, an analysis, an analysis of social media conversations worldwide about World Press Freedom Day. Later that year, USC hosted a Columbia-based UNESCO forum supporting broader efforts that contributed to the United States’ return to the organization. The college was then awarded a UNESCO Chair in December 2021.
In 2023, the CIC hosted another global forum ahead of UNESCO’s Internet for Trust conference in Paris, further strengthening the partnership and spotlighting USC’s leadership in information integrity.
With its latest contributions to the World Trends Report, the college continues to shape conversations about journalism, technology and the future of democratic communication worldwide.