The conference was jointly organized by the Department of Cybersecurity and Hi-Tech Crime Prevention and Control (A05) under the Ministry of Public Security, the Digital Trust Alliance, the National Cybersecurity Association and VCCorp, under the theme “KOLs and the journey to building digital trust”.
Discussions focused on the influence, responsibility and professional ethics of content creators in the digital environment.
In his opening remarks, journalist Nguyen Tat Hong Duong, Chief of the Office of the Vietnam Cybersecurity Association and Editor-in-Chief of the Vietnam Cybersecurity Journal, said KOLs, KOCs and other influencers are helping deliver information to the community through their credibility and reach.
He said that when a story can reach millions of people and an opinion can spark public discussion, responsibility for protecting trust can no longer rest solely with the press, government agencies or traditional institutions. The crisis of trust in the digital space is becoming increasingly evident as users struggle to distinguish between real and fake information. A 2026 study by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford found that only 37 percent of respondents trust news most of the time, the lowest level since 2015.
At the same time, AI and deepfakes can fabricate faces, voices, images and videos, allowing misinformation to spread rapidly and affecting individuals, businesses, markets and public perceptions.
At the thematic session “Digital influence and the future of creativity”, Senior Colonel Nguyen Hong Quan, Deputy Director of the Department of Cybersecurity and Hi-Tech Crime Prevention and Control (A05), stressed that the greater the influence, the greater the responsibility to the community. He said the measure of a KOL is shifting from reach to credibility and responsibility, while sustainable value must be built on trust and professional ethics.
Speakers also noted that generative AI is changing how content is produced. Creators need to be transparent when using AI, verify information before sharing it and clearly distinguish facts from opinions.
As part of the conference, delegates visited and experienced the Digital Trust Zone, which featured technologies for detecting deepfakes, verifying information sources, and providing digital safety, security and trust solutions.
That afternoon, the conference continued with a discussion titled “Building digital trust — From commitment to action”, launched the nationwide Digital Trust Club network in 34 provinces and cities, and saw the signing of a commitment to comply with the Standards for Influencers.
