by Matteo Bergamini, SHOUT OUT UK.
The world is rapidly evolving, and technology is at the forefront of this evolution. The rise of the digital era has impacted the concept of citizenship, and civic engagement has become both a tool for positive engagement and for disinformation.
Today, digital technology has become an integral part of our lives, influencing how we consume information, interact with others, and engage in society. It has opened up new avenues for participation and engagement, but it has also brought new challenges with the rise of disinformation, conspiracy theories and rampant online radicalisation. In 2021 alone, The Office for National Statistics reported that 99% of adults in the UK aged 16 to 44 were recent internet users, compared with 54% of adults aged 75 years and over. Furthermore, research by Ofcom from September 2020 showed that people aged 25-34 were the most likely to come across misinformation (36%), compared to those aged over 65 who were the least likely (21%).
Considering this massive upward trend in internet usage, it’s now paramount that we ensure all young people are given the tools they need to navigate the digital world safely, alongside understanding how their political system works. This education needs to be embedded in schools and sustained throughout adulthood, as technology continues to change, media and political literacy must continue throughout our lives to ensure we never become vulnerable to malicious actors online.
Political literacy, along with media literacy, which focuses on critical thinking and emotional resilience in digital spaces, need to be seen as a fundamental component of modern citizenship as it is clear that the internet is an intrinsic part of everyday life for the majority of citizens, with nearly nine in ten UK adults and 99% of 12 to 15 year olds reporting being online on a daily basis. Similar trends can be seen across the globe, meaning it is essential to have digital skills and knowledge with a heavy focus on combatting disinformation, being able to tell facts from fiction and basic digital safety skills to be an active and informed citizen in today’s world.
We at Shout Out UK (SOUK) are on a mission to defend and amplify democracy by ensuring all citizens understand how their government functions through political literacy, are inoculated from disinformation and misinformation through media literacy and are given a chance to have a say in how their country is run through our own youth voice platform and various programmes.
Among our numerous projects this past years, we have delivered Media Literacy to combat extremism in Pupil Referral Units across London with MOPAC, delivered on Prevent-related Media Literacy training for Parents and carers in Norfolk and Suffolk, we have delivered Media Literacy programmes in Welsh in North Wales, training for teachers and students across the whole of Sussex and lately become the official teacher training provider for OFCOM to name a few.
Aside from our educational programmes, we have worked closely with NATO on three different media literacy initiatives, delivered on our now yearly London Voter Registration Week, in partnership with the Greater London Authority, which had a social media reach of 5.1 million via our channels alone. From January 2022 we also collaborated with the Greater London Authority once more to launch the first ever coalition campaign to ensure all Londoners are aware of the changes to their democratic engagement brought about by the Elections Act 2022. Within that campaign, we wrestled with an acute problem in that the changes brought forward by the Act can get very granular and complicated, whilst most citizens want information that is relevant to them exclusively. As a digital first company, we created a whatsapp chatbot, embedded in the Greater London Authorities democracy hub, that allows any individual to message it to gain tailored advice on the changes relevant to them. This ensures that we can conduct tailored, individual, bespoke conversations with citizens about their rights on mass. A first in the democratic engagement space.
As is clear by the excitement and apprehension of the so called ‘year of elections’ this need isn’t UK specific. To that end we have partnered with the US Department of State to build resilience and best practice on Political & Media Literacy in West Africa, specifically Nigeria. The podcast and training programme will ensure support for NGOs in the region to both share stories of best practice and build collaborative efforts to actively fight against disinformation in all its forms.
Nothing short of the future of our democracy depends on these types of collaborations. After all, how can we fix climate change if portions of our society don’t think it exists? Until every eligible voter is given the tools to understand how their government works and how to identify disinformation for themselves, extreme views and conspiracy theories will continue to frustrate debates, and democracy will suffer.
Matteo Bergamini, MBE is the Founder and CEO of Shout Out UK, a multi-award winning social enterprise that provides impartial Political and Media Literacy training and campaigns focused on democratic engagement and combatting disinformation online, tailored to local circumstances and culture.
