News Media
The news industry faces unprecedented censorship, AI bias, and corporate control. Access our guide to support independent journalists and alternative news.
NEWS MEDIA - Journalism Under Threat
Discover the evolving world of alternative media and learn how we can work towards protecting press freedom. Our news media guide offers you in-depth information on investigative journalism, seeking out real news, media literacy, and countering fake news.
Connect with hundreds of valuable resources, independent initiatives, and media organisations – for genuine transparency, improved journalistic integrity, and a well-informed future.
Jump straight to our resources on ➡️ News Media
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General News Media Information
The news industry is experiencing a severe, structural crisis driven by a massive decline in revenue, the shift to digital consumption, and plunging public trust. Independent journalism is being stifled by censorship, political influence, surveillance, conglomeration, and violent threats and harassment of journalists.
Journalism is now considered one of the most dangerous professions.
In the U.S., trust in the mass media has fallen to a record low of 28% in 2024. Globally, just 40% of people trust most news. A significant portion of people now actively avoid the news (46% in the UK).
The internet has revolutionised news consumption, with 70% of people now consuming their news online. Newspapers are in long-term decline. There has never been so much news available, but it is fragmented, can be overwhelming, and the use of artificial intelligence is further eroding trust.
Ongoing significant global events, such as the War on Gaza and the Ukraine War, mean there is more news to report than ever. Yet interest is declining, and with it so does people's interest in politics and global affairs. News outlets play a crucial role in shaping public discourse and informing citizens.
Explore our guides to news by topic (Including Human Rights, Peace, Social Justice, and Climate) as well as news by country. Use our excellent Twitter/X Lists to keep your news feed informative and reliable.
For German speakers, be sure to check out our sister site Bessere Welt Info and the essential ➡️ Medien guide with over 5,000 links.
The News Industry & Press Freedom
The internet enables large-scale dissemination of information, which can be used to educate and inform whole populations about current events. Likewise, it can also be used to sway opinion, manipulate, control the narrative, spread propaganda, and even alter voters' choices.
It is essential for democracy, justice, the environment, and our fundamental rights that critical journalism does not die out and that information lobbying and censorship do not gain the upper hand. We must fight against mass media, television, and social media, which are used as superficial appeasements to distract citizens from critical issues.
Reporting the news comes at a price, as attacks on press freedom and independent media are intensifying. In an unprecedented year, at least 124 journalists and media workers were killed in 2024. The most dangerous region for media workers was Gaza.
Press freedom organisations work hard to uphold the industry's integrity, combat censorship, and protect journalists who face threats and violence simply for exposing the truth.
Press freedom is a human right which must be upheld. The state of journalism in more than three-quarters of the world is classified as problematic or worse.
In 2024, the biggest election year in history, political authorities put journalists under enormous pressure. The year was marked by forced closures of media agencies, violence against journalists, absence of regulation, detainment, deepfakes, social media and online information control, surveillance, restrictions, propaganda campaigns, and state-owned media takeovers.
The growing popularity of alternative news subscriptions keeps journalism quality high, allows readers to avoid propaganda, and enables them to enjoy unlimited access to critical analysis.
Discover how NGO journalism and the collaboration between the media and NGOs help to enhance reporting standards. Promoting knowledge sharing, removing on-the-ground barriers, and ensuring crucial foreign news stories reach Western audiences are essential.
Social Media as a Platform for News
More people are now turning to social media for a quick fix of their daily news digest. With such a minefield of information, we have sorted the wheat from the chaff for you.
Follow our carefully selected Twitter lists on important topics such as climate, refugees, human rights, peace, social justice, anti-nuclear weapons, women's rights, the LGBTQI+ community, and more.
With almost 50% of U.S. adults now getting their news from social media, the importance of media literacy has never been greater. Social media is now a major source of disinformation, fake news, and bias.
Other issues include censorship and surveillance, algorithms which amplify bias, lack of data privacy, filter bubbles, addiction, and mental health implications.
Our social media guide provides a wealth of information on these issues, as well as critical comments on major platforms, including Facebook, Twitter (X), Mastodon, Instagram, Bluesky, and YouTube. You will also find excellent resources on social media for NGOs and non-profits, how to use it for campaigning and advocacy, blogging, monitoring and metrics, and free online courses.
Top Journalists & Investigative Reporters
Journalists and investigative reporters are essential in ensuring citizens remain well-informed. They act as watchdogs, exposing wrongdoings, corruption, rights violations, and abuses, and they hold corporate media giants, powerful governments, politicians, and corporations accountable.
By bringing light to these kinds of issues, journalists create transparency and uphold democracy. To celebrate the brave correspondents, broadcasters, frontline investigators, and columnists who are not afraid to reveal the truth, Better World Info presents our top selection of investigative journalists and whistleblowers.
Learn about Wikileaks founder Julian Assange and his 12-year legal battle, the murdered Palestinian-American reporter Shireen Abu Akleh, and the co-founder and host of independent news outlet Democracy Now! Amy Goodman. Find further reading on anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist, and outspoken mass media critic Noam Chomsky, and social media transparency and accountability advocate Frances Haugen.
'He who controls the media controls the minds of the public.' It is therefore of highest importance that the public has unadulterated access to the truth, and the whole truth." - Noam Chomsky
Better World Info advocates for press and internet freedom, freedom of speech, and the safety of all those who seek to expose the truth. It is our duty to support journalists by subscribing, donating to local and non-profit news sources, sharing quality reporting amongst friends, advocating for the real news industry, and paying for the news that we consume.
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As a collaborative platform, Better World Info invites experts, NGOs, and activists to get involved!
Share your valuable resources, such as studies, reports, and campaigns, with our community and help spread the word about Better World Info.
We are a constantly expanding project dedicated to disseminating reliable, critical, and investigative information – for an informed, inquisitive, and critical world.
Author: Rachael Mellor 09.03.23, latest update 07.07.26, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
For further reading on News Media see below ⬇️
Info on News Media
- General INFO on News Media 510
- News Media - by TOPIC
- News Media - by COUNTRY 2638
- Other ALTERNATIVE Media - by country 788
- INVESTIGATIVE Journalism 621
- Censored & UNDER-Reported 70
- CORPORATE Media / Global Media Giants 319
- FAKE News 151
- Online Filter Bubbles 107
- Dangers of Big Tech & Silicon Valley 42
- Bread & Circuses - TV & Junk News 38
- SOCIAL Media
- Exemplary Journalists
- TOP News Media 1
