The bulletin summarises media literacy activities by a range of organisations in the UK and overseas. These activities include events, research, projects and initiatives and a range of international contributions.
Editorial note
Thank you to all who shared their updates for this edition of the Making Sense of Media bulletin. We have provided points of contact wherever possible, for the purposes of collaboration between network members.
A reminder that these updates are provided by our network members and reflect their individual views and contributions. Inclusion here does not imply endorsement by Ofcom.
Previous bulletins are available upon request.
Making Sense of Media (MSOM) winter conference – Good News, Bad News or No News
Over 100 people participated in the Good News, Bad News, or No News Winter Conference held on 27 November 2024.
We started the day by exploring how attitudes and habits around information consumption have evolved with data from our Understanding misinformation: an exploration of UK adults' behaviour and attitudes research, and the impact of misinformation on public trust in media and institutions.
- Marianna Spring, BBC Social Media Investigations Correspondent, shared fascinating insights from her observations of elections from around the world, highlighting how people experience mis and disinformation.
- Our expert panel: Dr Anna Black, Assistant Professor, Northumbria University, Amanda Gurruchaga, Head of Programmes, Shout Out UK and Yasin Erkul Facilitator, ConnectFutures discussed several real-world case studies, illustrating the various strategies employed by civil society to counter misinformation.
- Dr Melisa Basol, Social Psychologist, founder of Pulse, presented the concept of "prebunking" – proactively inoculating people against mis and disinformation– and explored its effectiveness.
- After lunch our panel session brought together experts; Georgina Lee, News Editor FactCheck and Data Channel 4 News, Richard Burgess, Director of News Content BBC, and Chris Morris, CEO Full Fact, shared their experiences with the tools and strategies in reducing misinformation, building trust with audiences and users.
- Attendees participated in interactive workshops; “Engaging and supporting different user groups”, “Mis and disinformation – User expectations of services and possible tech solutions”, “What works: does professional news work as an antidote to mis and disinformation”, diving deeper into specific challenges and examining potential tools to tackle mis and disinformation.
- Our final panel offered an in-depth perspective on Ofcom’s role in regulating and addressing misinformation, including current and future approaches to policy and enforcement.
A huge thank you to all our external speakers and workshop participants.
Making Sense of Media (MSOM) Advisory Panel
We are pleased to announce our incoming panel for the next two years. Please see details here for panellists and their bios: MSOM Advisory Panel - Ofcom
Applications open for Ofcom’s Advisory Committee on Disinformation and Misinformation
Ofcom is inviting applications for its Advisory Committee on Disinformation and Misinformation. The committee will provide advice to Ofcom about specific areas of our work relevant to misinformation and disinformation as specified in the Online Safety Act. For more information please see the role specification.
Tender opportunity – Untold Stories: building news literacy skills in communities
Ofcom is working to improve people’s media literacy skills, including helping them to spot mis and disinformation and to understand how news is produced. To do this, we are commissioning media or news literacy programmes which will be delivered between January 2025 and January 2027.
We have published two tenders: one focusing on children and young people’s media literacy and one focusing on adults’ media literacy.
It is likely that your organisation has already developed a media/news literacy programme, although it may need some adaptation to meet our requirements. Specifically, we are interested in hearing from organisations that can support people to be more able to identify mis and disinformation and will have a better understanding of news production, ideally through having produced their own local news reports.
The deadline for submission is midday on Monday 6 January 2025.
For more information or to submit a clarifying question, register on our etendering portal.
Ofcom publishes quantitative misinformation research
On 27 November we published our report ‘Understanding misinformation: an exploration of UK adults' behaviour and attitudes’ to coincide with our Making Sense of Media Annual Conference. The report provides evidence of how UK adults think and feel about “false or misleading” information: where they see it, why they think it’s false or misleading, and what they do and feel as a consequence.
Key findings include:
Over two-fifths (43%) of UK adults say they encounter misinformation or deep fakes, and this was more likely for men, younger adults, those from an ABC1 background, minority ethnic groups, LGB+ groups and those with mental health conditions.
Among those who say they have encountered false or misleading information in the last four weeks, seven in ten say they have seen it online. Four in ten say they have seen it on TV, and two in five via print.
Nine in ten of those who encounter misinformation say they are concerned about its societal impact, and almost two-thirds say they are concerned about the impact on themselves.
The insight from this work is shaping our co-created qualitative research, to be published in the Spring, which will focus on developing messaging and approaches that can best support people to deal with mis and disinformation.
Internet Matters
Internet Matters has published its latest report, ‘The new face of digital abuse: Children's experiences of nude deepfakes.’ The report highlights the growing challenge of nude deepfakes, including teens' experiences and families' views on the prevalence of 'nudifying’ tools.
For more information contact Katie-Freeman-Tayler.
DFC - Report on Smartphone policies in schools
Digital Futures for Children centre (DFC), London School of Economics and Political Science report on Smartphone policies in schools: What does the evidence say? explores the evidence from around the world, discussing potential benefits (limiting class distractions benefits learning) and the need for a nuanced approach (e.g. incorporation into the curriculum brings academic benefits). Email Maria Stoilova for more information.
University of Sheffield - School of Journalism, Media and Communication
Irini Katsirea and M. Thelwall were awarded a major research grant from the Gulbenkian Foundation, led by the University of Turku. The project, 'Unreliable science: Unravelling the impact of mainstream media misrepresentation', examines the prevalence of retracted scientific research in the media. For more information contact Irini Katsirea
The Guardian Foundation
Benefit from free training from The Guardian Foundation's news literacy experts in January. Join their online sessions about how to support children to produce authentic written and audio news reports or register your interest in in-depth CPD in your school. Run by the NewsWise team. Contact Sorcha Hughes, for more information.
The Guardian Foundation are running a webinar in January: Tackling media literacy in the classroom will explore a flexible media literacy program co-created with SEND teachers, offering practical activities and free resources to enrich classrooms. Participants will gain strategies to support critical literacy and foster understanding of media’s impact on behaviour and wellbeing. Contact Mena Sultan for more information.
Association for Citizenship Teaching:
ACT’s "Media Matters" course helps educators teach media and information literacy. It covers critical topics like misinformation and the role of media in democracy, providing practical strategies for engaging students.
To support the release of the Netflix documentary, 'Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy', ACT has developed a two free lesson plans for teachers with accompanying resources to prompt student's critical thinking about how advertising influences consumer choices and drives impulsive buying.
For more information contact info@teachingcitizenship.org.uk
BBC Bitesize
The Other Side of the Story campaign from BBC Bitesize has wrapped on a new series of media literacy workshops in secondary schools around the UK. They support students with critical thinking skills and give them practical insight into how news stories are constructed, and often manipulated, online.
Internet Matters – Resources:
Deepfake - guidance for parents and carers
Internet Matters has produced guidance for parents and carers on deepfake technology and how AI can be used to spread misinformation and disinformation, as well as practical tips to keep children safe online.
My first console - guidance for parents and carers
Internet Matters has produced a guide for parents and carers to help their children safely experience all the benefits of gaming on their first console, with tips and advice on parental controls to support safer online play.
Social media safety checklist for parents
In response to conversations around restricting social media, Internet Matters has produced a social media safety checklist for parents and carers to help them keep their children safe online.
For more information contact Katie-Freeman Tayler.
Media Smart UK 2024 Campaigns
Media Smart’s highly successful 2024 campaigns included Scam Awareness and Political Advertising, focused on increasing levels of understanding amongst 13-25 yrs. The team also continued delivery of its careers workstream, and in 2025 will launch a Parents' Digital Literacy campaign with TikTok. Contact Rachel Barber-Mack for more information.
Parent Zone - Media Literacy Campaign for Parents
Parent Zone is launching a December seasonal media literacy campaign for parents, highlighting simple habits that can help to navigate online content, environments and positive behaviours over the festive period. You can follow these on the Parent Zone socials and YouTube channel. For further information contact Parent Zone.
Getting Better Foundation
US-based Getting Better Foundation, in cooperation with the US Department of State, Universities, and American Corners continues to make available award-winning "Trust Me" Documentary and its non-partisan curriculum and discussion guides for student assemblies and media literacy PD globally www.trustmedocumentary.com. For more information contact Rosemary Smith
MediaSmarts Canada - Campaign Materials
MediaSmarts has released new campaign materials for their Break the Fake house hippo campaign as part of an AI literacy initiative, which includes new videos and educational resources designed to encourage everyone to check the information they see online before they share it in the deepfake.
Media and Learning Association: Games for Good session
In this session on Wednesday 11 December from 2pm to 3.15pm, the Media and Learning Association will explore the transformative potential of games as educational tools and delve into how they can be leveraged for social activism and awareness. You can sign up here: Games for Good: Media Literacy and Digital Citizenship - Media and Learning Association. Contact Chloé Pété, Media and Learning Association for more information.