Ofcom’s Making Sense of Media
News-watch examines the scale, structure and transparency of Ofcom’s expanding media-literacy network, following a Freedom of Information request that raised further questions about its organisation, governance and relationships.
Document type
Freedom of Information Request
STATUS
Ongoing
MATERIAL
FOI correspondence
Author
David Keighley
News-watch submitted a Freedom of Information request to Ofcom concerning its Making Sense of Media (MSOM) programme and the scale, structure and governance of the network that has developed around it.
MSOM is presented primarily as a media-literacy initiative. It has, however, developed into an extensive network involving Ofcom, technology companies, charities, campaign groups, academics and other organisations working in areas including misinformation, online safety, elections and civic participation.
News-watch believes this development raises important questions about the influence of publicly funded institutions over the boundaries of legitimate public debate. These concerns take on additional significance alongside the BBC’s expanding role in identifying and countering what it considers misinformation.
There is an important distinction between identifying demonstrably fabricated material, such as a falsified photograph or invented quotation, and determining what constitutes “misinformation” in contested areas of politics, science, economics, culture or public policy. In these fields, evidence may itself be disputed and legitimate interpretations can differ.
The boundaries of misinformation
The concern is that, as institutions acquire greater regulatory and informational influence, definitions of misleading or unreliable information could result in legitimate but contested viewpoints being marginalised, downgraded or treated as suspect, without those opinions being formally prohibited.
News-watch therefore sought to establish the scale and structure of MSOM: which organisations are involved; who sits on its advisory, steering and expert groups; what contracts or other funding have been awarded; how those relationships are governed; and how far the programme has expanded.
1. Around 700 indviduals in the network
Ofcom said approximately 700 individuals were signed up to the Making Sense of Media network, but declined to disclose their names, citing section 44 of the Freedom of Information Act and section 393 of the Communications Act 2003.
2. The organisations were not identified
News-watch's request asked Ofcom to identify the organisations that were members of, participating in or formally associated with MSOM. Ofcom instead gave the approximate number of individuals signed up to the network and did not provide the requested list of organisations.
3. Advisory and research groups
Ofcom pointed to its published MSOM Advisory Panel and said it also draws on a Research and Evaluation working group. Members of the Advisory Panel are selected by Ofcom following an open application process, with appointments based on expertise and connections across its media-literacy work.
4. Contracts for media-literacy projects
Ofcom said it does not award grants, but commissions organisations to deliver media-literacy projects under its statutory duties.It supplied News-watch with a spreadsheet listing 32 contracts worth more than £3 million within the scope of the request from 1 January 2023 onwards.
5. No stakeholder map held
News-watch asked for any stakeholder map, organisational chart or equivalent document showing the relationships between organisations participating in or advising the MSOM programme. Ofcom said that it did not hold this information.
Ofcom’s response did not, in News-watch’s view, adequately provide the information requested and raised further questions about both the scale of MSOM and the transparency surrounding its operation. News-watch subsequently requested an internal review of Ofcom’s response.
The Freedom of Information exchange
The documents below set out News-watch’s request for information about the structure and operation of Making Sense of Media, Ofcom’s response, and the subsequent correspondence arising from that response.
31 May 2026 — Freedom of Information request
News-watch asked Ofcom to identify the organisations involved in the MSOM network, members of its advisory and governance groups, contracts and funding since January 2023, its governance arrangements, and any document mapping relationships within the network.
26 June 2026 — Ofcom response
Ofcom said approximately 700 individuals were signed up to the MSOM network, but declined to identify them. It provided information about its Advisory Panel and Research and Evaluation working group, together with a spreadsheet of relevant contracts, but did not provide the requested list of organisations participating in the network or a document mapping relationships between them.
Supporting data: Ofcom’s spreadsheet listing 32 contracts worth more than £3 million within the scope of the request from January 2023 onwards.
29 August 2026 — Request for internal review
News-watch asked Ofcom to reconsider three aspects of its response: its failure to identify the organisations participating in or associated with MSOM; whether further information about the programme’s governance is held; and whether sufficiently broad searches had been conducted for records showing the relationships between organisations involved in the programme.
The internal review is ongoing. Check back for updates.