Our academics have played a prominent role in debates about the policy and practice of media literacy for over two decades, providing analyses and commentary on the state and development of media literacy in policy and practice, both in the UK and internationally.
As well as conducting leading-edge research funded by national and international bodies, we are represented in expert advisory roles for Ofcom, the UK's national regulator responsible for media literacy, and the European Commission-funded European Digital Media Observatory. Our faculty regularly delivers keynote presentations at international media literacy conferences that bridge academic and practitioner audiences, and our LSE blog highlights some of the most pressing issues facing media literacy academics and practitioners in the contemporary environment.
Access our media literacy research repository for a comprehensive list of the key contributions from the department.
Research Projects
The DFC is a joint research centre between LSE's department of media and communications and 5Rights Foundation. The centre supports an evidence base for advocacy, facilitates multidisciplinary dialogues and amplifies children’s voices. Within the broader aim of upholding and advocating children's rights in digital environments, as outlined by General comment No. 25, there are components of media literacy within DFC projects. Relevant ongoing projects include: RIGHTS.AI, which captures children's experiences and perceptions of AI in distinct contexts; a better EdTech future for children, which assesses the impact of education technology on children in schools and children's visions of digital futures which engages 5Rights Global Youth Ambassadors around the world to explore their visions of child rights respecting digital futures. Director: Sonia Livingstone
REMEDIS is an initiative part of the DiSTO project specifically focused on evaluating media literacy and digital skills interventions across six European countries. Led by LSE's Department of Media and Communications as the UK partner, alongside institutions in Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Poland and Spain, REMEDIS measures how media literacy programs translate into positive outcomes across different life domains. The project combines rigorous impact assessment with practical application, developing evidence-based policy recommendations and a user-friendly, customizable evaluation toolkit that practitioners can adapt to their specific contexts. By focusing on measurable outcomes across diverse European settings, REMEDIS provides crucial insights into what makes media literacy interventions effective and how they can be optimised for maximum social impact. Lead: Ellen Helpser
Cross-sectoral Challenges for Media Literacy is the first comprehensive study mapping the complex landscape of UK media literacy delivery, funding, and coordination challenges. Commissioned by the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to support the Online Media Literacy Strategy, this stakeholder-centric research combined interviews and workshops with UK practitioners alongside analysis of 11 international case studies. The study reveals the multi-faceted experiences of organisations delivering media literacy programs and identifies critical barriers to effective implementation across sectors. Through comparative international analysis, researchers uncovered evidence-based best practices and strategic approaches that can strengthen media literacy ecosystems. The findings provide policymakers, funders, and practitioners with practical insights into overcoming coordination challenges, improving program delivery, and building sustainable media literacy capabilities across diverse organisational contexts. Lead: Lee Edwards
LSE's Department of Media and Communications was a partner on this international and interdisciplinary project on ySKILLS in the digital age (EU Horizon 2020, €3.2 million, 2020-23). ySKILLS examined risks and opportunities related to children’s ICT use and the role of digital skills in children’s cognitive, physical, psychological and social well-being.The project involved longitudinal research with children aged 12 to 17 and aimed to offer evidence on how to enhance and maximise long-term positive impacts of the ICT environment on multiple aspects of children’s wellbeing by stimulating resilience through the enhancement of digital skills. Lead: Sonia Livingstone
DiSTO is a global research project addressing digital inequalities through evidence-based digital literacy frameworks and practical tools. Our international network has developed and validated comprehensive measures of digital literacy that encompass technical, information, social, and creative skills across diverse cultural contexts. DiSTO research combines practical applied skills assessment with critical knowledge evaluation, recognising that both elements are essential for people to capitalise on digital opportunities while avoiding potential harms. Our findings reveal that while digital literacy gaps follow historical inequality patterns, the impact varies significantly based on intervention design and local circumstances. The project's research-backed toolkits and frameworks are now widely used by policymakers and practitioners worldwide to create more effective, context-specific digital literacy programs that deliver measurable outcomes for communities facing digital divides. Lead: Ellen Helpser
Informing Policy and Practice
The LSE Department of Media and Communications played a key role in the House of Lords Media Literacy consultation, contributing expert written evidence that reflects over 20 years of our pioneering media literacy research. Our submission emphasised the urgent need to enhance digital and media literacy in the UK, defining it as a comprehensive set of technical, cognitive, social, civic, and creative skills essential for navigating today's media landscape. We highlighted how strong media literacy empowers citizens to critically evaluate information, combat misinformation and disinformation, and engage more effectively in democratic life. We also drew attention to the challenges posed by emerging technologies such as generative AI, warning that without universal access to media literacy education, society risks greater exclusion, polarisation, and declining public trust. The LSE submission was widely cited in the final report, which you can access here. Lead: Lee Edwards
LSE experts contributed to shaping the EDMO Effectiveness Guidelines for Media Literacy Interventions, a European framework aimed at enhancing the evaluation of media literacy projects. These guidelines establish common standards and benchmarks to ensure that interventions are not only innovative but also evidence-based and impactful. Read the guidelines here. Lead: Emma Goodman
Our department contributed expertise to Ofcom’s Media Literacy Initiatives Library, a national resource that brings together and showcases projects aimed at improving media literacy across the UK. This work enables policymakers, educators, and practitioners to access practical tools and approaches for strengthening critical media engagement with diverse audiences. Explore the library here. Lead: Emma Goodman
Key publications
Our Media Literacy research repository displays a comprehensive list of outputs from each of the above projects, as well as from academics across the department. The publications have shaped the field of media literacy, and we are proud to present them in an open-access format.
The AirTable is searchable by date, author, publication type and title, and you may search through the repository, click the search icon on the top right of the screen. Access the research repository.
People
Sonia LivingstoneProfessor
Sonia Livingstone OBE FBA is a leading expert in media literacy and children's digital rights at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). She has authored over 20 books on media audiences, digital literacy, and online safety for young people. Her research includes major international projects such as EU Kids Online, Global Kids Online, and ySKILLS. She advises global bodies including the UN, OECD, and European Commission on media policy and children's digital rights. Professor Livingstone currently directs the Digital Futures for Children centre at LSE in partnership with the 5Rights Foundation.
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Ellen HelsperProfessor
Ellen J. Helpser is Professor of Socio-Digital Inequalities at LSE’s Department of Media and Communications. A leading expert in digital and media literacy, she has directed international projects such as Global Kids Online and From Digital Skills to Tangible Outcomes. Her work focuses on developing tools and frameworks to assess digital skills and media literacy, exploring how these intersect with social inequalities. She is affiliated with the International Inequalities Institute and the Digital Futures for Children Centre, and advises governments, NGOs, and international bodies on media literacy policy.
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Lee EdwardsProfessor
Lee Edwards is Professor of Strategic Communications and Public Engagement in the Department of Media and Communications. Her media literacy research focuses on the networks and power dynamics shaping the sector and their impact on programme implementation. She has led projects for the UK government and Ofcom, including a major study on stakeholder perspectives in the UK media literacy sector. Dr. Edwards is a member of Ofcom’s Media Literacy Expert Advisory Panel (2025–28), contributed to the House of Lords Media Literacy Inquiry, and led her department’s submission to it.
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Shakuntala BanajiProfessor
Shakuntala Banaji is Professor of Media, Culture and Social Change and Programme Director of the MSc in Media, Communication and Development at LSE. Her research examines the relationships between socio-political contexts, media audiences, and democracy, with a particular emphasis on disinformation and media literacy. She has led projects on media use and political participation among youth in Europe, India, and the UK, critically examining the design, regulation, and evaluation of tech tools in relation to assumptions about audience literacy and resilience. She is the author or co-author of eight books and over 100 publications, including Social Media and Hate (2022), Children and Media in India (2017), and Youth Active Citizenship in Europe (2020).
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Mariya StoilovaDr.
Mariya Stoilova is a Postdoctoral Research Officer in the Department of Media and Communications at LSE and Manager of the Digital Futures for Children centre. Her research examines the intersection of children’s rights, well-being, and digital literacy, with a focus on how media literacy promotes resilience and informed online engagement. She has led international projects such as ySKILLS, DIORA, Global Kids Online, euCONSENT, and Ofcom’s work on misinformation. She also advises organisations like UNICEF, GSMA, and the Council of Europe, providing evidence-based frameworks to strengthen children’s media literacy, safety, and participation in the digital age.
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Emma GoodmanEmma Goodman is a Policy Officer in the Department of Media and Communications at LSE, working to make the department’s research more accessible and impactful. She is also a Research Associate at the European University Institute's School of Transnational Governance, contributing to the European Digital Media Observatory (EDMO) on media literacy policy and research. Emma has worked as a research consultant for Ofcom, the UK Government’s Department of Science, Innovation and Technology, and Google, focusing on media literacy evaluation. She has also researched gender and news media, commissioned by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
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World Children’s Day: digital futures for children – children’s rights under pressure in the digital environment
Hear from the first global effort to track the recognition, uptake and implementation of children’s rights in digital spaces. Drawing from UN treaty monitoring, national policies, regional frameworks, and civil society advocacy, research by the Digital Futures for Children centre maps how General comment No. 25 influences law, policy, and practice. It highlights areas of progress, obstacles, and the steps needed to fully realize children’s rights in an increasingly connected world. The panel discusses pathways for change in international law and digital rights, and explore what comes next.
Panel: Kim R Sylwander, Gerison Lansdown and Gastón Wright. Chair: Sonia Livingstone
Find out more about the event or visit the project page.
Does Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) affect children's rights? Insights from children in the global South
The Digital Futures for Children centre (DFC), in collaboration with researchers from the EU Kids Online network and partners in four countries in the global South, lead a child-rights-focused project that shines a light on children’s experiences with GenAI.
Specifically, RIGHTS.AI explores children’s interactions with GenAI, focusing on their expectations, fears, hopes and imaginations while assessing the impact of AI on their rights, creativity and development. Watch the launch of findings from Brazil, India, Kenya and Thailand.
Watch the event or visit the project page.
Teens, sexting and image-based sexual abuse: a child rights approach
With the ubiquity of technological devices, young people are more visible and accessible than ever before, and they are encountering, using and producing an unprecedented amount of sexualised imagery.
Although evidence suggests that ‘sexting’ is considered a normal practice among teens, there are, nonetheless, inherent risks. Teens who sext run a range of legal, financial, health, educational and sociosexual risks, yet still they do it. Apart from image-based sexual harassment and abuse, teens also face emerging risks such as AI-informed deepfakes and sextortion. In this public event, four speakers will discuss empirical findings from three different countries: Australia, Sweden and the UK.
Speakers: Professor Leila Green, Jessica Ringrose, Kim R. Sylwander and Giselle Woodley. Chair: Sonia Livingstone.
Find out more here or watch the replay.