Media Impact Project

🚨 New Research 🚨

A multi-method study by the Lear Center (with support from the Luminate Group) surveyed 1,500 adults across the US, UK & France in February 2025 to explore what they see and hear about social media harms through news and entertainment—and what kinds of stories they want to see. Here's what we learned:

✅ Harms aren’t limited to kids—but coverage rarely reflects broader societal impacts.

✅ In scripted content, blame shifts to individuals, leaving corporate responsibility unexamined.

✅ Over 80% of audience members expressed interest in stories that expose systemic issues and Big Tech accountability.

Professionals in media, policy, and advocacy can use these insights to shape powerful, solution-oriented narratives.

Read the full report:

Big Tech in Media To understand how the harms of social media and technology are covered in media and entertainment — as well as audiences' appetites for such stories — we conducted a multi-method study across...