A New Left-Wing Media Ecosystem Is Reshaping Democratic Politics

A growing number of progressive Americans are turning away from legacy news outlets and toward independent podcasts, social media accounts and digital news sites, forming an ecosystem that has helped propel this year's wave of anti-establishment, left-leaning candidates.

Farah Berent, a teacher in Michigan, said she once relied on ABC, CBS and CNN but stopped after concluding that coverage of the war in Gaza was irreparably biased and paid too little attention to Palestinian suffering. "I couldn't stand all the lies on the stations," she said. "I started going to Instagram to get my news."

Liberals remain more likely than conservatives to trust mainstream outlets, but the splintering echoes the alternative right-wing media world built years ago around sites like the Daily Caller, Breitbart and The Blaze, and later around podcasts such as "The Joe Rogan Experience."

Ryan Grim, a co-founder of Drop Site News, said progressive politicians now seek out his platform directly. "They have ways to get covered even if the mainstream just basically ignores them," he said. Grim said Drop Site has amassed 800,000 free and 60,000 paid subscribers since launching two years ago.

One beneficiary is Abdul El-Sayed, who is running for U.S. Senate in Michigan against the more moderate Rep. Haley Stevens in the Aug. 4 primary. "Where traditional media has been gatekeepers, we're watching that gatekeeping function fall away," El-Sayed said. A longtime podcaster, he said he still takes any platform: "I go on Fox News, I go on podcasts, I Twitch stream, we have a YouTube channel."

Stevens has taken a more traditional approach, with endorsements from Sen. Gary Peters, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, plus backing from AIPAC and affiliated groups that have spent close to $30 million.

In New York City, a slate of progressive congressional candidates endorsed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani defeated establishment-backed rivals. Sara Hyler, a policy analyst in East Harlem, said she had planned to back Rep. Adriano Espaillat before discovering challenger Darializa Avila Chevalier through YouTube videos and podcasts, including from MeidasTouch. "My actual beliefs are to the left of Democrats," she said.

Democratic consultant Mike Nellis attributed the shift to eroding faith in institutions: "You're picking your flavor of person to listen to."