Tell The truth.
Extinction Rebellion’s first demand was‘Tell The Truth’. The truth is increasingly under threat.
The world’s media – social media, corporate media and state media – have been hijacked by a handful of wealthy, malignant media owners with toxic agendas.
Extinction Rebellion has a long history of targeting the media and are now working with the new group Media Revolution to disrupt the corrupt, billionaire-owned media with a coordinated response.
What do we need to achieve?
We must achieve a radical transformation of the global media system. We must challenge billionaire and state-controlled disinformation networks and build democratic, community-led alternatives that serve people and planet, not profit.
What is the proposal?
XR’s first demand was to tell the truth. we propose a coordinated global effort to expose and dismantle corrupt media power structures. We also aim to highlight and support efforts to build truthful, cooperative, independent media.
“All institutions must communicate the danger we are in. We must be clear about the extreme cascading risks humanity now faces, the injustice this represents, its historic roots, and the urgent need for rapid political, social and economic change”
What can we do?
- Challenge billionaire propaganda machines.
- Support commons-based, grassroots media.
- Mobilise mass resistance and direct action.
- Promote media literacy and public empowerment.
- Back ethical, independent journalism.
The Problem
A 2021 study from the Media Reform Coalition found that just three companies (News UK, Daily Mail Group / DMG Media, and Reach) dominate approximately 90 % of national newspaper circulation.
In 2025, Who Owns the UK Media? reported that this dominance has increased. DMG Media alone (owner of the Daily Mail, MailOnline, i newspaper, Metro, etc.) reaches an estimated 63 % of UK adults across its publications and online platforms.
The problem is also present in local news and information publication. Two large local publishers, Newsquest and Reach, control about 20 % each of the local press market, more than the combined smaller 173 publishers.
Such domination can lead to conflicts of interests and allows the owners to set the information, and the political, agenda.
The way the Internet is also problematic.
Online information depends heavily on Google and Meta. Online searches use Google for over 90% of the time in the UK and Google, together with Meta, accounts for about 60% of online advertising spending.
Consequently, this gives these platforms tremendous leverage over which news is broadcast, monetised, or suppressed.
The outcome of ownership of information sources by a few extremely wealthy people is a narrowing of ideological views and the political and social agenda to those favoured by the owners.
With fewer independent journalists available to question, there is a reduction in accountability. There is also a corresponding rise in corruption and disinformation
We have a positive feedback loop: wealth enables media ownership; media ownership enables influence; influence helps protect wealth.
Our choices diminish, our freedoms weaken and, with the concentration of wealth among the billionaires, the people become poorer.