Shout Out UK Releases 2022-2026 Impact Report: Defending Democracy Through Political and Media Literacy
At a time when disinformation campaigns, political polarisation, and sophisticated digital threats pose unprecedented challenges to democratic societies, Shout Out UK (SOUK) has officially released our latest Impact Report. Highlighting pivotal milestones in youth engagement, counter-extremism, voter turnout, and policy reform, our report underscores SOUK’s vital role as a frontline defender of democratic resilience.
A Growing Crisis in Democratic Trust
At SOUK, our work takes place in the urgent context of a fracturing information ecosystem and a crisis of trust in political institutions. Misinformation has been identified as one of the most serious global threats and political disengagement among younger generations is rife.
- Merely 19% of young people believe that the current democratic system works for them.
- Only 1% of teachers feel fully prepared to teach political literacy in schools.
- Referrals to the UK government’s Prevent programme have surged by 27%.
- A staggering 50% of 16-to-34-year-olds cite non-consensual deepfakes as a primary fear.
In response to these challenges, SOUK’s multi-pronged approach, spanning political and media literacy, preventing and countering violent extremism (PCVE), youth policy development, and national advocacy, has delivered measurable, systemic change.
Key Statistics and Global Impact
Over the past four years, SOUK’s targeted initiatives and prebunking methodologies have achieved impressive reach across the UK and internationally.
Electoral Engagement: SOUK registered over 700,000 young voters overall over the period of the report. Ahead of the 2024 UK General Election, our #BallotBound campaign generated 451,325 direct clicks to register to vote on gov.uk, while the #DISMISS campaign garnered 13.5 million impressions countering political disinformation. Further digital drives included 224,387 register-to-vote clicks for the Welsh #SeneddBound campaign and almost 20,500 Londoners registered during the GLA’s London Voter Registration Week (LVRW) 2024.
Educator and Professional Upskilling: More than 3,000 educators and frontline professionals, including police officers, armed forces personnel, and social workers, have engaged in SOUK’s CPD programmes. Commissioned by Ofcom, SOUK trained 1,054 professionals, boosting participants’ confidence in implementing prebunking interventions from 9% to 97%.
Direct Youth Engagement: We delivered media literacy training to more than 20,000 young people in schools and other settings, and our educational digital campaigns reached over 1 million young voters across England and Scotland. SOUK’s anti-extremism game, Pathways, is currently being rolled out to 43,000 RAF Cadets and 10,000 adult volunteers nationally.
Our Youth Policy Development Group, made up of 20 young people aged between 15 and 24, has enabled direct youth engagement with national institutions and policy processes, including participation in the APPG on Political and Media Literacy and Welcome To Your Vote Week. Over the period of the report, YPDG members took part in 12 consultations across four government departments.
Policy Advocacy: Serving as secretariat for the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Political and Media Literacy, SOUK successfully advocated for media literacy to be embedded into the National Curriculum in England from primary school level.
Defending Truth in the Digital Age
Reflecting on the report’s release and SOUK’s ongoing mission, Matteo Bergamini MBE, CEO and Founder of Shout Out UK, stated:
“Democracy is not a spectator sport; it is a living, breathing ecosystem that requires active participation, critical thinking, and, above all, a voice… When you equip a young person with confidence and understanding of their democracy through political literacy, and inoculate them from disinformation through media literacy, you empower them to become a lifelong defender of truth and democracy.”
Looking Ahead
From our global projects, such as Season 4 of our Media Minded podcast which gained 13 million impressions in West Africa and training 90 young global leaders across 47 countries with the British Council, to our grassroots initiatives in Wisconsin, US and Wales, SOUK continues to prove that fostering a politically and media literate population should be humanity’s first line of defence against online harm and democratic backsliding.
In Matteo’s words:
“As digital threats grow more sophisticated, the mandate to protect our information ecosystem becomes more urgent. We invite visionaries, changemakers, and investors to join us in this vital mission.”
Read the full impact report here.
