Have you seen the news recently and felt like you were losing your mind?
You’re not alone.
Most of us want the exact same things: to know accurate information about what is happening in the world, to look out for our neighbours, and to protect the places and people we love.
We know that accurate information is a basic human right. Without it, we can’t make good decisions about our lives. Right now, there’s more consumer protection for buying a sandwich than consuming media that shapes our society.
One reason why so many of us feel exhausted, isolated and scared is the fact that a handful of billionaire media barons and tech bosses are standing in the way of change, and actually generating the breakdown of society.
Using addictive algorithms, weaponised AI, and a plethora of tactics to deceive us with relentless division, disinformation and scapegoating, they profit from us being hooked to our screens, divided against our neighbours, angry at the wrong targets and despondent at the chances of change.
Marginalised communities are routinely othered and punched down on to protect the powerful. And toxic headlines don’t stop at print – they set the agenda for TV bulletins, dominate broadcasts, spread through social media, and become the word on the street. Top-down regulation has failed completely (and AI regulation is set to fail in the exact same way while amplifying the crisis).
But ordinary people are refusing to play along – and are building a movement media from the ground up.
This week – Media Liberation Week (2nd to 8th November) – volunteer campaigners, independent journalists, and everyday citizens are coming together through open, direct-action tools like the Cover Story campaign (which anyone can use to champion the causes they care most about) while simultaneously growing the grassroots infrastructure to replace, radicalise and regulate the failing media.
The new News Club Network is being built specifically to bring communities together to challenge the disinformation and division, and to seek accurate, independent reporting, creating a people-powered distribution network that algorithms can’t throttle.
Last year, a single day of the Cover Story action rattled the billionaire press so badly they had to issue a formal supply chain alert to retailers. This week, people everywhere are escalating to a full seven days of action—and launching the News Club Network.
How to Join In This Week:
💥 Hijack the Headlines with Cover Story
Designed as an open tool for anyone who wants to champion the causes they care most about,.
You can print off a template Cover Story or make your own and discreetly place it over billionaire-owned newspapers in shops, supermarkets, and public spaces.
Replace toxic spin with buried truths on Palestine, wealth taxes, the right to protest, dead rivers, the climate crisis, Congo, factory farming, weaponised AI, citizens’ assemblies, and animal testing, or classic warning notices (“Warning! This Is Not News”, “Who Paid For These Stories?”, and “Menticide”). 👉 Download the Print-Ready Designs & How-To Guide Here 👉 Watch a Cover Story Action in Situ Here
💥Join a News Club.
There’s a growing, grassroots network of local and online gatherings where ordinary people come together to unpack how media manipulation works, break free from algorithmic addiction, and share real, independent journalism.
[Bristol News Club - Oct 26 - with Coexist and The Bristol Cable]
Early partners joining the network include The Bristol Cable and Conway Hall Ethical Society.
Come and connect in person this Wednesday at Conway Hall (25 Red Lion Square, London, WC1R 4RL – doors open 6:00pm), featuring keynote speaker Gail Bradbrook (Co-Founder of Extinction Rebellion) alongside Lexie Kirkconnell-Kawana (CEO of independent press regulator IMPRESS), Tom Chivers (Chair of the Media Reform Coalition), and Anuradha Vittachi (Co-Founder of OneWorld.net). 👉 Book Your Ticket for Conway Hall Here
Together, we can starve the toxic attention economy, take back our streets and our minds, and build a powerful media commons that serves people and planet.
👉 Explore the Full Media Liberation Week Schedule Here
