Crossing the pond for the Ofcom Conference proved eventful—my journey included a London tube evacuation! But once there, the discussions were worth the detour. Alison Preston, Head of Research at Ofcom, opened the day with an overview of their latest findings on public information attitudes and habits in our misinformation era. The results, while informative, resonated with lots of the trends across Europe: 47% of UK adults encountering potentially false content online simply move on, and 90% express concern about its societal impacts.
The first keynote by Marianna Spring, Social Media Investigations Correspondent for the BBC, stood out. She shared experiences from her years covering elections and global events, including conversations with young men about the effects of algorithms. See her article, It stains your brain: how social media platforms show violence to boys.
The morning panel explored Ofcom’s latest report, What Works in Media Literacy?, spotlighting practical projects and case studies. Later, Melisa Basol, founder of Pulse, presented “prebunking” as a proactive solution to misinformation.
The final panel brought broadcasters and fact-checking organisations into focus, raising pressing questions about their role in combating misinformation, questioning whether their efforts truly achieve the intended impact. The debate continued in the workshop I attended, which examined whether professional news serves as an antidote to disinformation and how could they do better.
The day concluded with insights from Ofcom on their media literacy plans for the coming years, emphasising the need for continuous innovation, nuanced startegies and collaboration to meet the evolving challenges of mis- and disinformation.
