Nearly two-thirds of UK journalists have failed to build “meaningful” followings on Instagram, TikTok or YouTube, according to new analysis from social media consultancy Viralect. The research, which examined 526 UK journalists across six platforms, found that 64% lack substantial audiences on these visual platforms, with just 0.6% commanding followings of 20,000 or more across all three.
The findings arrive as online video becomes one of the fastest-growing ways people discover and consume news, with under-35s now encountering journalism far more through TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, than through traditional text-based platforms.
Platform Distribution Shows Heavy X Reliance
The data shows 93% of journalists maintain public accounts on X, making it the industry’s primary shared stage for commentary and breaking news. Nearly half of the journalists studied fail to build an audience above 5,000 followers on any platform, despite most being active on three or four networks.
Follower counts on X remain heavily clustered among well-known figures, and many journalists report declining engagement on the platform. By contrast, video-led platforms offer disproportionately high visibility for those who adopt them. Only 13.5% of journalists have grown a meaningful audience on TikTok or YouTube, but those who have achieved this are substantially more visible across all platforms.
Multi-Platform Elite Emerges
The dataset identifies 72 journalists who have built sizeable audiences on at least three platforms. These journalists, often broadcast faces, political explainers and creator-style reporters, form what the report terms the multi-platform elite. The top 10% command dramatically larger audiences than the rest, a pattern intensified by the dominance of high-profile presenters and early adopters of visual formats.
Gender Disparities in Following
On average, male journalists have around three times the total following of women. Instagram represents the only platform where women appear to have a platform advantage, suggesting visibility on fast-growing visual platforms rewards different content strategies and demographics.
‘Visibility Crisis’ Warning
Sophia Smith Galer, founder of Viralect and winner of the 2024 Georgina Henry award, describes the situation as a “visibility crisis” for UK journalists.
“Public authority is being enjoyed by the journalists who are making themselves most visible, taking advantage of the algorithms that are otherwise making their colleagues invisible,” Smith Galer said. “We risk major attention collapse if newsrooms don’t actively build journalist-led visibility on video platforms, empowering all of their staff and not just familiar faces; institutions increasingly rely on the individuals who work for them to confer trust and attract paying online audiences.”
She added: “I would describe this as a visibility crisis for UK journalists, given we are working in an algorithmic landscape where audiences increasingly go to individuals over mainstream media accounts for news. If a tiny group soak up most of the attention – many of them TV personalities, early adopters, and men – not only will most journalists’ work vanish, but high-quality information that’s inclusive and representative of the public will fail to battle all of the non-journalistic content out there – a great deal of which is misinformation.”
Recommendations and Methodology
The report recommends targeted investment from newsrooms in vertical video capability, creator-style formats, and support for journalists to develop distinct on-camera identities. The analysis uses publicly visible follower data collected manually across six platforms between August and October 2025.
The sample includes journalists with identifiable, public-facing reporting or presenting roles who were easily surfaceable in online searches. The study measures visibility through following only and does not assess engagement, influence, trust, or quality of journalism. The dataset is illustrative rather than exhaustive, reflecting journalists with visible public profiles rather than the entire UK journalism workforce.
Cecilia Carloni, Interview Manager at Influence Weekly and writer for NetInfluencer. Coming from beautiful Argentina, Ceci has spent years chatting with big names in the influencer world, making friends and learning insider info along the way. When she’s not deep in interviews or writing, she's enjoying life with her two daughters. Ceci’s stories give a peek behind the curtain of influencer life, sharing the real and interesting tales from her many conversations with movers and shakers in the space.
Nearly two-thirds of UK journalists have failed to build “meaningful” followings on Instagram, TikTok or YouTube, according to new analysis from social media consultancy Viralect. The research, which examined 526 UK journalists across six platforms, found that 64% lack substantial audiences on these visual platforms, with just 0.6% commanding followings of 20,000 or more across all three.
The findings arrive as online video becomes one of the fastest-growing ways people discover and consume news, with under-35s now encountering journalism far more through TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, than through traditional text-based platforms.
Platform Distribution Shows Heavy X Reliance
The data shows 93% of journalists maintain public accounts on X, making it the industry’s primary shared stage for commentary and breaking news. Nearly half of the journalists studied fail to build an audience above 5,000 followers on any platform, despite most being active on three or four networks.
Follower counts on X remain heavily clustered among well-known figures, and many journalists report declining engagement on the platform. By contrast, video-led platforms offer disproportionately high visibility for those who adopt them. Only 13.5% of journalists have grown a meaningful audience on TikTok or YouTube, but those who have achieved this are substantially more visible across all platforms.
Multi-Platform Elite Emerges
The dataset identifies 72 journalists who have built sizeable audiences on at least three platforms. These journalists, often broadcast faces, political explainers and creator-style reporters, form what the report terms the multi-platform elite. The top 10% command dramatically larger audiences than the rest, a pattern intensified by the dominance of high-profile presenters and early adopters of visual formats.
Gender Disparities in Following
On average, male journalists have around three times the total following of women. Instagram represents the only platform where women appear to have a platform advantage, suggesting visibility on fast-growing visual platforms rewards different content strategies and demographics.
‘Visibility Crisis’ Warning
Sophia Smith Galer, founder of Viralect and winner of the 2024 Georgina Henry award, describes the situation as a “visibility crisis” for UK journalists.
“Public authority is being enjoyed by the journalists who are making themselves most visible, taking advantage of the algorithms that are otherwise making their colleagues invisible,” Smith Galer said. “We risk major attention collapse if newsrooms don’t actively build journalist-led visibility on video platforms, empowering all of their staff and not just familiar faces; institutions increasingly rely on the individuals who work for them to confer trust and attract paying online audiences.”
She added: “I would describe this as a visibility crisis for UK journalists, given we are working in an algorithmic landscape where audiences increasingly go to individuals over mainstream media accounts for news. If a tiny group soak up most of the attention – many of them TV personalities, early adopters, and men – not only will most journalists’ work vanish, but high-quality information that’s inclusive and representative of the public will fail to battle all of the non-journalistic content out there – a great deal of which is misinformation.”
Recommendations and Methodology
The report recommends targeted investment from newsrooms in vertical video capability, creator-style formats, and support for journalists to develop distinct on-camera identities. The analysis uses publicly visible follower data collected manually across six platforms between August and October 2025.
The sample includes journalists with identifiable, public-facing reporting or presenting roles who were easily surfaceable in online searches. The study measures visibility through following only and does not assess engagement, influence, trust, or quality of journalism. The dataset is illustrative rather than exhaustive, reflecting journalists with visible public profiles rather than the entire UK journalism workforce.
The full report is available here.
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