By Sara Yin, student in the M.S. in Strategic Communication program
Melissa Fleming, United Nations (UN) under-secretary-general for global communications, recently joined the M.S. in Strategic Communication program’s Ethical Decision-Making for Communicators class to discuss how international organizations like the UN both benefit from—and struggle with—connecting to audiences in today’s digital world. Fleming highlighted how digital tools connect people and bring them closer together by breaking down geographic and hierarchical barriers, and how they can help turn a vision for a better world into strategic communication in action.
Digital tools are supposed to be the great equalizer in many ways. Today, they still are. These platforms tear down geographic walls, allowing people to connect one-on-one across the globe, form relationships they would never otherwise make, and join together in a unified voice. They are game-changers for building a better world.
However, for every bright side, there’s a downside that threatens good intentions. Digital tools can become weaponized and erode information integrity. Social feeds are flooded with AI-generated “slop” that confuses our sense of fact and fiction. Bad actors exploit these platforms to cause real harm—silencing women, painting refugees in a bad light, and bullying activists who fight for justice. Algorithms are designed to prioritize outrage, and AI can distort the work of journalists, washing out the truth and spreading misleading information. Fleming described this as a “war of narratives.” Ironically, the same tools we rely on to improve the world can also undermine good intentions relating to issues such as democracy, gender equality, and human rights.
Fleming pointed out that we need facts to trust, and trust is the foundation of our future. Yet that trust is eroding. We live amid devastating wars, human rights abuses, and shifting geopolitics that leave people feeling excluded and frustrated. We need solutions. We need action. Yet we are trapped in a crisis of disengagement, fear, and neglect. Fleming echoed philosopher Hannah Arendt’s warning that freedom of opinion becomes hollow when the basic facts themselves are in dispute.
Nearly 40 percent of people worldwide are avoiding the news because the doom and gloom is overwhelming. With sobering clarity, Fleming explained that “the more people die, the less we tend to care.” To counter this “psychic numbing,” one of the UN’s core strategies follows a three-step framework. First: Create. Think outside the box to grab attention and spark curiosity. Second: Relate. The goal is to connect with people and the problems they face, providing them with a sense of compassion and care. Third: Motivate. “We need to inspire action. We need to show that there is a solution, there’s a blueprint. Audiences are more engaged, motivated, and active when invited to envisage a future where problems are solved,” says Fleming.
Take The Future Thanks You campaign from last summer as an example, which asked: What does your better future look like? The UN received 30,000 responses in two months. People offered visions of a world where the climate crisis had been solved and reported a 17 percent increase in their own support for action. On the UN Act Now app, people have logged nearly 28 billion actions worldwide. “Many people want to join forces with us for a better world. We just need to get them mobilized,” Fleming continued. “While we deliver the facts, we ask them to use our formula to create, relate, and motivate.”
Digital tools aren’t simply good or evil. What matters is how we use them. Fleming highlighted that ethical culture change is gradual; it grows from small, positive intentions, step by step. In the Q&A portion of Fleming’s visit, she encouraged us to consider “solutions journalism,” work with trusted local messengers, and focus on the “conflicted middle” of audiences who can still be moved—reminding us that even those lower in the hierarchy can start honest conversations and help rebuild trust in a divided digital world. Wherever we go in our careers, she reminded us, we carry powerful communication tools with us. It’s up to us to use them wisely to create, relate, and motivate.
About the Program
Columbia University's M.S. in Strategic Communication program empowers current and aspiring leaders to shape the future through strategic communication. It is designed to respond to the urgent need for global perspectives, critical thinking, and ethical decision-making at all levels of organization. The interdisciplinary curriculum emphasizes audience-centered strategy and digital competency. Distinguished scholar-practitioner faculty bring real-world experience into the classroom and provide a learning experience that is immediately relevant in the workplace.
The program is available full-time on campus or part-time online with residencies. The part-time format is ideal for experienced full-time professionals based in or outside the New York metropolitan area. Learn more about the program here.
