Why civil society should champion independent media in the UK

TLDR; 

1. Independent media reaches active, engaged audiences that help achieve real impact.

2. You shouldn’t fund or support media institutions that are actively hostile to civil society.

3. Big Tech algorithms suppress your work and amplify division, isolation, and addiction.

4. Civil society must set the agenda, not react to the one set by elites and tech platforms.

5. A storm is coming - civil society needs its own, independent communication system to survive.

First and foremost, independent media is better at reaching the people civil society needs. Not just passive readers, but the active ones — the ones who show up, who speak out, who share and build. If you want to achieve real-world impact, these are the people you need onside. And these are the people independent media already speaks to.

There’s no good reason to keep supporting media organisations that actively oppose civil society. The billionaire press is not on your side. American Big Tech companies aren’t on your side. And even state media - while less aggressive - ultimately serves power, not people. These institutions shape public opinion in ways that undermine the very causes civil society stands for. Backing them, or relying on them, only weakens your own position.

Let’s be clear: Big Tech controls almost everything people see online. Their algorithms run the show. And those algorithms are not made to elevate truth, or justice, or social causes. They’re designed to maximise profit or push political aims. That means they downrank the kind of work civil society does. And they promote the kind of content that makes people feel angry, scared, alone, and stuck to their screens. If you rely on those platforms, you’re playing a rigged game - and your message will always come second to the algorithm’s goals.

Right now, the daily news agenda - what we talk about, what gets airtime, what dominates the feed - is mostly set by three forces: billionaire-owned media, American Big Tech, and, to a lesser degree, state broadcasters. That means civil society is always behind, always responding, always playing catch-up. Even when we win a public fight, it’s on their turf. We need to flip that. We need to be able to say, “Here’s what matters.” 

Independent media can help you do that - it’s the only real tool we’ve got for shaping the conversation instead of chasing it.

The massive shift in society isn’t theoretical. It’s happening. Right now. Massive funding cuts. Repressive laws. A political shift to the hard right across Europe, the UK, the US. This is already underway, and it’s going to get worse. Civil society is going to come under extreme pressure - financial, political, legal. And when that happens, you can’t afford to rely on communications systems built by those who want you gone. 

You need your own channels. Your own networks. Your own media. Independent media is that. And the time to build it is now - not when it’s too late.