In 1974, political theorist Hannah Arendt warned that “The moment we no longer have a free press, anything can happen. What makes it possible for a totalitarian or any other dictatorship to rule is that people are not informed; how can you have an opinion if you are not informed?”
Fifty years later, we are dangerously close to that reality. Independent journalism—free from political or authoritarian influence—is struggling to reach audiences on social media.
Platforms like Twitter (now X) and Facebook were once crucial for news organizations, offering access to millions of users. Journalists relied on these platforms to share stories and drive traffic to their websites. But that relationship has crumbled. The 2025 Reuters Institute Digital News Report highlights a sharp decline in referrals to news sites—67% from Facebook and 50% from X over the last two years.
Tech companies are no longer allies of journalism or civil discourse. Worse, social media has become increasingly hostile to press freedom.
The Decline of Journalism on Social Media
Faced with these challenges, several major news organizations have had enough. NPR left X in 2023 after being labeled “U.S. state-affiliated media.” The Guardian recently stopped posting on the platform, calling it “toxic.” Prominent European outlets—including Sweden’s Dagens Nyheter, France’s Le Monde, and Spain’s La Vanguardia—followed suit. The European Federation of Journalists, representing 320,000 journalists, also cut ties, stating: “We cannot continue to participate in feeding the social network of a man who proclaims the death of the media.”
But quitting X alone is not a solution. It simply means settling for other problematic platforms.
Journalism Must Take Back Control
With millions relying on social media for news—54% of Americans get their news from these platforms, with young adults (18-29) being the heaviest users—journalism cannot afford to abandon the space. Instead, news organizations must regain control and stop depending on third-party platforms that prioritize profits over truth.
A solution lies in a cooperative, journalist-run social media platform. Independent news organizations—big and small—could collaborate to create a network that amplifies reliable journalism, directs traffic back to news sites, and actively combats misinformation.
This idea is not unprecedented. The Associated Press (AP) was founded in 1846 when five New York newspapers collectively funded a faster news route during the Mexican War. Today’s problem is similar: if the current system fails journalism, it’s time to build a new one.
A Global Journalism Network
A nonprofit, global social media platform for journalism could allow users to customize their news feeds—local, national, or international—while ensuring access to credible sources. The platform could be open to any legitimate news organization that adheres to principles of fact-based reporting. Reporters Without Borders, for example, has a strong framework for fostering independent journalism, requiring members to commit to truth, diverse viewpoints, and rigorous fact-checking.
Business and Technical Viability
From a financial perspective, such a platform could keep advertising revenue and analytics within the journalism industry instead of handing it over to tech giants. Access could be granted through a subscription to any member news outlet or a small fee, ensuring built-in verification and reducing bots. Established global fact-checking standards, such as those from the International Fact-Checking Network, could guide content moderation.
The cost of building this platform would be significantly less than the billions spent on platforms like X. For comparison, Bluesky—an emerging alternative to X—began as a small internal Twitter project in 2019 and secured just $23 million in funding to reach its current stage.
While Bluesky has gained popularity among journalists, its broader mission is to create a less toxic online space rather than specifically prioritizing journalism. A journalist-driven platform could serve public discourse while strengthening independent media.
The Future of Journalism in the Digital Age
The task of creating a journalist-run social network is too big for any one newsroom to tackle alone. Some discussions have emerged about Europe launching a social media platform focused on democracy, diversity, and privacy to counteract the influence of U.S. and Chinese tech giants. However, a global, nongovernmental initiative driven by news organizations may be the most effective way to protect press freedom from political influence.
By leveraging open-source protocols like ActivityPub (used by Mastodon) or the AT Protocol (used by Bluesky), this new platform could prioritize journalistic integrity while giving users more control over their news experience.
If journalists don’t take action, they risk accepting whatever ecosystem Silicon Valley billionaires or authoritarian governments decide to impose. A cooperative, nonprofit, journalism-centric social media platform could put credible news back at the heart of public discourse—where it belongs.