A New Journalism For A Populist Age

As 2026 commences, how ready is the world of journalism for the next quarter century of the 21^st century?

With social media gaining traction in the 2010’s, it’s safe to say the online world has well and truly exploded in the 2020’s. TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and X are all pillars of communication, information gathering and self-expression; should they have been given the authoritative voice they now have?

The current social media-sphere is many worlds away from the World Wide Web conceived by Tim Berners Lee back in 1989. Today, the internet holds the key to countless locks - in many instances more than we are even aware of. Without it, the world would undoubtedly be a much slower place, the instant access it proffers and demand for consumption it prompts has dialed our social and economic spheres to eleven. However, the very thing that has created an abundance of opportunity has also revealed itself as being capable of harming the post-war world order that has been so taken for granted.

Democracy is a fragile, precious thing. It must be actively nurtured and maintained, with guardrails enabling law and order as well as acting as antibodies against more sinister agendas. A free press is an integral part of a free society, allowing powerful figures to be held to account and being in the sight of the people they serve, to show that they are trustworthy and robust conduits of information. In her new book The New Censorship: How the War on the Media is Taking Us Down, Ayala Panievsky identifies the dilemmas that journalists are up against when faced with the populism that social media has helped steadily boil. A researcher specialising in right-wing populism and media under attack, Panievsky has seen the desecration of the media in Israel at the hands of Netenyahu. She describes an informational ‘climate change’ wherein the media is in a losing battle against relentless populism, and how this has resulted in a fragmentation in the journalistic world.

To adapt to this rapidly changing world, journalism must strive to reclaim its legitimacy and value. There cannot, however, be a return to the archaic elitism and exclusivity seen in days gone by, representing the people they hope to inform is essential to a journalist’s ability to reach their audiences. Panievsky describes the current struggle against populism as being ‘understood as a form of sophisticated censorship: a mechanism which uses journalists’ audiences as a level to turn their professional norms against them.’ Depicting an attack from within, rather than without, the business model for consumption that media organisations have used since pre-internet days are quickly becoming obsolete. Fees and subscriptions are diverting users away from their sites and into the arms of Youtubers and other podcasters.

In 2025, Ofcom found that BBC Online still has the highest reach for adults, who use websites and apps of news organisations to get their news, at 59%. The question that is percolating is how much longer will this last? BBC bashing has become quite fashionable over the years; when the President of the United States sues the public broadcaster, alleging that AI might have been used (not a splicing of two sentences) in a Panorama documentary, trust in mainstream media outlets is seriously shaken to the foundations. A direct attack upon media companies from the Trump administration has become commonplace during his presidency, making way for Candace Owens, Joe Rogan, Alex Jones and others to cultivate their audiences and further fragment onlookers. This legitimisation of conspiracy from mainstream politicians has seriously damaged the integrity of journalism, the unrelenting populist machine always seems to manage to come out on top, with journalists trying to put out a forest fire with a single bucket of water. 

Detailing the reaction to populism, Panievsky delves into the media’s desire to appear balanced, impartial and ethical. This manifests itself as extended coverage for right wing parties, The Guardian reported back in September that Reform was featured in 49 BBC News At Ten bulletins between January and July 2025, despite only having 5 MP’s. Comparing this to the Liberal Democrats coverage, who have 72 MP’s and are the third largest party in parliament, they found themselves featuring in 17.9% of bulletins. This well intended desire to cover all the factions of the political landscape is also the fuel that springboards further mis- and disinformation, simultaneously platforming populists as they accuse that platform of being a part of the establishment and fake news. How is it a party that has a minute amount of MP’s can gain such traction over others? Populists do not adhere to the rules set out by any system, they use the rules against the rules, making them more nimble and able to out-manoeuvre journalists and political opponents. 

There is a growing need for a concerted campaign from journalists across the board to combat this threat. It may feel counter-intuitive, the core of journalism has always been competition, however the world has changed in ways that were unimaginable even 30 years ago. Camaraderie and a defence of journalistic rigour is what will set aside fact based, robust journalism from those who attempt to undermine and destabilise our faith in values fought for by our families not even 100 years ago. Without standing together, we risk losing not just the agency a free press gives us, but normalising the abnormal.

Illustrations: Will Allen/Europinion