NEW YORK (AP) — Farah Berent, a physician assistant in Holland, Michigan, used to learn about politics from channels like ABC, CBS and CNN. But that changed as she decided that coverage of the war in Gaza was irreparably biased.
"I couldn’t stand all the lies on the stations,″ said Berent, arguing that there wasn't enough attention being paid to Palestinian suffering. "I started going to Instagram to get my news.”
Berent is among many who have sworn off legacy media institutions. They're turning to a of independent podcasts, social media accounts and digital news sites, part of an increasingly influential ecosystem that has boosted this year's wave of anti-establishment, left-leaning candidates who may not have gotten as much attention otherwise.
Liberals remain more likely than conservatives to , but the splintering echoes how conservatives skeptical of their party created a collection of insurgent news sites years ago. The shift has elevated individual commentators with opinions on the news, some of whom have proven influential in driving people’s votes.
Ryan Grim, a co-founder of Drop Site News and a veteran of online political debates, said progressive politicians have sought out his platform to reach voters. In a change from previous election cycles, "they have ways to get covered even if the mainstream just basically ignores them,” he said.
One of those candidates is Abdul El-Sayed, who is running for U.S. Senate in Michigan and faces the more moderate U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens in the Aug 4. primary.
“I think in a lot of ways, where traditional media has been gatekeepers, we’re watching that gatekeeping function fall away,” El-Sayed said.
Anti-establishment media has exploded lately
These changes have been on display this year in places like New York City, where a slate of progressive congressional candidates endorsed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani defeated establishment-backed candidates.
Sara Hyler, a policy analyst in East Harlem, originally planned to support incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat in last month's Democratic primary. But then Hyler started learning about progressive outsider Darializa Avila Chevalier through YouTube videos and podcasts, including from the liberal media company MeidasTouch.
“My actual beliefs are to the left of Democrats. I don't want a moderate,” said Hyler, who ultimately voted for Avila Chevalier in hopes she could help nudge Congress toward progressive policies.
The rise of independent media has been part of a digital transformation that transcends politics, as chronically online Americans are turning toward news from . But it's not just the popularity of smartphones driving that change.
“There’s a complete lack of trust in any and all institutions now,” said Mike Nellis, a Democratic consultant who hosts a podcast, writes a Substack and posts political analysis on social media. “That has led people to turn to individuals, and so now you’re picking your flavor of person to listen to.”
Among conservatives, faith in mainstream media and in the more moderate wing of the Republican Party faltered years ago, with the rise of the Tea Party movement paving the way for an alternative right-wing media ecosystem, including sites like the Daily Caller, Breitbart and The Blaze. Trump also tapped into a loose constellation of podcasts, including "The Joe Rogan Experience," for his successful comeback campaign.
Reece Peck, a media culture professor at the College of Staten Island, said the left-wing version of that has happened slowly, beginning with the momentum of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ first presidential run in 2016. At the time, left-wing, anti-establishment YouTube accounts and podcasts like “The Young Turks” and “Chapo Trap House” were gaining attention but didn't reach the majority of Democratic voters.
Now Democrats have realized their faith in institutions didn't prevent Trump's return.
“The ground has been made fertile for an anti-establishment media politics, where it just wasn’t quite there with the voter base in those previous cycles,” Peck said. Even older, moderate liberals, he said, have started to ″throw their hands in the air and look for alternatives.”
YouTube accounts like ”Secular Talk" and “Breaking Points,” streamers like Hasan Piker and new digital journalism organizations like More Perfect Union and The Lever are among those that have seen their audiences multiply.
Grim said Drop Site has amassed 800,000 free and 60,000 paid subscribers since launching two years ago — more than he'd anticipated.
Saul Levin, a Michigan progressive organizer who recently started his own podcast about artificial intelligence data centers, said Trump’s attacks on the existing media landscape are part of the reason for that growth.
“The investigations and raids on numerous different journalists, the appointment of specifically aligned billionaires to lead various major news agencies, is very troubling,” he said. “Creators and new media outlets are stepping in and trying to fill gaps.”
Alternative media is prominent in the Michigan primary
The Michigan primary will be the latest test of the evolving media ecosystem, which El-Sayed, a longtime podcaster himself, has tried to harness. Various progressive outlets, creators and organizers have aggressively promoted his campaign.
El-Sayed said the rise of independent media has let voters compare news across different channels and notice biases, but he doesn't turn down opportunities on legacy media, either.
“I go on Fox News, I go on podcasts, I Twitch stream, we have a YouTube channel,” he said.
Stevens, who received endorsements from outgoing incumbent Sen. Gary Peters, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, has a more traditional approach. She's also backed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, and its affiliated groups, which have on the race.
Stevens' campaign declined to comment for this story.
Reporting from progressive outlets has influenced how the race has unfolded. For example, Stevens parted ways with a campaign consultant when Drop Site revealed that she had also worked for tech company Palantir, which is controversial in liberal circles because of its government contracts involving immigration enforcement.
Democratic officials said Trump's return to the White House has also revived interest in the party's official channels. The Democratic ɫtv Committee's relatively new digital media offering, a rapid-response clipping and messaging account with the handle @FactPostNews, has amassed more than 2 billion impressions on Threads, X, Facebook, Instagram and Bluesky in 2026 alone.
“I remember thinking to myself, there’s a chance that this flops and doesn’t get any traction,” said DNC Deputy Chief Mobilization Officer Paulina Mangubat. “It's been really, really successful.”
At times, the mix of new voices on the left has erupted in public tensions.
Grim recently faced criticism for boosting failed Democratic candidate Graham Platner in Maine, and he was accused of trying to undermine the credibility of the sexual assault allegation that torpedoed Platner's campaign. Grim said while he recognized people were angry, his reporting on the allegation was meant to share additional context.
“If we’re going to litigate allegations in the court of public opinion, we can’t pick and choose what details we want to share with the public out of a fear of how they’ll be received,” he said.
More recently, when Drop Site interviewed progressive U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna of California, one of its journalists pressed Khanna on whether Hamas was justified to attack Israeli soldiers on Oct. 7, 2023. Khanna refused to agree.
But Grim said those are the kinds of tough questions independent media are there to ask — and that American voters increasingly want to see their representatives in Congress answer.
“People want to see you being accountable to questions, and if they don't agree with you, sometimes that's fine,” he said. “I think the smarter politicians are starting to recognize that.”
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This story has been updated to correct Farah Berent's job to physician assistant, not teacher.
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Associated Press writer Joey Cappelletti in Grand Rapids, Mich., contributed to this report.
