Charlie Alford

How Media Lens forged a path for independent journalism

Post author:PHIL MILLER
Post published:12 August 2026
Post last modified:12 August 2026

We are seeing today a surge in heretical media outlets including Novara, Doubledown News, Drop Site, Byline Times, Middle East Eye – and of course Declassified UK. We have emerged thanks in part to a growing appreciation that the mainstream media is broken, cannot be trusted, and is far more likely to disseminate falsehood than tell the truth. So it is only fair to wish a happy 25th birthday to the earliest of these dissident outlets – Media Lens. Media Lens first published in July 2001. The timing was perfect, with George W Bush starting to mobilise ahead of the Iraq…

Attack on independent media escalates (again) — YouTube will have to prioritise ‘MSM’

Post author:Skwawkbox
Post published:5 July 2026
Post last modified:5 July 2026

The Starmer regime is looking to force YouTube and other online media platforms to force-feed users with government-approved media and make it harder to find independent sources. This is a naked escalation in his war on information the state does not like. YouTube is warning creators that the planned new rules will: include mandatory changes to how content is discovered on YouTube. Exactly what the regime is planning to promote at the cost of independent sources is made clear by the consultation page on the government website: This includes: • interventions to support an informed society. For example, requiring social media…

Independent media rallies around the Canary as debanking scandal continues

Post author:Willem Moore
Post published:1 July 2026
Post last modified:1 July 2026

On Tuesday 30 June, we reported that the Canary has been debanked by Lloyds. This has left us with little money and considerable stress. And while we’re still in the thick of it, the dread has been eased by the outpouring of support from our friends and allies in the independent media. Solidarity from the independents with the Canary We reported on 30 June that: Lloyds has not explained why it has taken this action. Despite multiple communications from us, the bank has not been forthcoming with its reasoning. The Canary is now in a financially precarious situation. We do not know…

Al Carns is not an “independent” voice

Post author:Jody McIntyre
Post published:26 June 2026
Post last modified:26 June 2026

Al Carns has bottled the idea of entering a Labour leadership race. The ex-Armed Forces Minister had been eager to establish himself as a supposedly “independent” voice in recent weeks, resigning from Keir Starmer’s cabinet on 11 June. Carns was previously a supporter of the Conservative Party, and his conversion to Starmer’s Labour was said to have surprised former colleagues. He was generously given the “safe” Labour seat of Birmingham Selly Oak after the previous MP, Steve McCabe, announced that he would not be standing for re-election in 2024. McCabe had served as a parliamentary chair of Labour Friends of Israel…