"I make my living largely through social media," says Patience. Leveraging social media to get people's attention is no secret to her. Patience is a tailor in Plateau State, Nigeria, and to sell her creations, she expertly wields these platforms to attract potential customers online.

Recently, she has been directing her social media attention and her followers to a whole new topic: the pandemic.

With her social media savvy and enthusiasm for current events, it's no surprise that Patience has become one of the key social media influencers for the Working Together Against Corona project. Funded by the European Union, this global project relies on the influence of young people like Patience to counter rumors and misinformation about COVID-19 in conflict-affected countries.

While attracting people to her content is something she knew how to do, the project allowed her to look at the publications she shared in a new light. "I received training that allowed me to understand the causes of trends on social media and to cross-check information."

In addition, Patience learned how sharing information without verifying the source could contribute to misinforming people, even sparking conflict and weakening the message she originally intended to convey.

Patience recalls the protests that began in 2017 against police brutality. This social movement, led primarily by youth, called for an end to the police squad known as SARS. Born out of a Twitter campaign using the hashtag #EndSARS, it became a global trend, with about 28 million tweets on Twitter alone, yet not all were factual.

"Our emotions ruled us. We were reposting everything we saw on social media indiscriminately. Later, we discovered that many of these posts were fake." A tipping point for Patience. She continues to use her voice and smartphone to inform people. But this time, she knows how to verify the accuracy of the information beforehand. She calls on her friends to do the same. "When I see a post, I ask them, "What's the source? Are you sure about it?"

Patience has become the go-to person on the web to sort out the real from the fake. And when in doubt, she turns to the other influencers of the project.

"People contact me when they have suspicions about something they've seen on social media. One time, I couldn't tell myself if the information was true. So I shared it with our group to ask for help. The other influencers were able to identify that it was a mix of different videos from unreliable sources put together to promote an anti-vaccine narrative."

From tailoring clothes to social media posts, Patience always knows who she's catering to. "Young people are constantly online and are the ones who are quickest to share what they find on the internet.” Often the same age as Patience, they can also more easily relate to her and the stories she shares. "I create content like I would write a diary: personal stories work best."

Patience also relays those of people she knows. "Seven members of a friend's family have contracted the virus. She shared how they experienced it and encouraged people to take the disease more seriously. Stories like this bring people together. It's like someone we all know is taking us along with them on their journey of illness, both through pain and recovery."

Businesswoman. Activist. Influencer. Patience is on a roll, inspiring and engaging young people along her own journey to bring change and make Nigeria a better and safer place, online and offline.