670. The UK’s Chilling Plan to Control What You Watch

670. The UK’s Chilling Plan to Control What You Watch

From Heretics | Andrew Gold by Andrew Gold

July 9, 2026 · 58 min · Episode 670

About this episode

This episode discusses the UK government's plans to prioritize legacy media sources on social media platforms and its implications for independent creators.

The government is introducing plans that could force social media to prioritise ‘legacy channels’ in their algorithms. I’m actually staggered they’re being this brazen. The UK government has released a green paper proposing that social media platforms should prioritise “trusted” legacy media sources like the BBC over independent creators and commentators. In this episode, I explain why this matters, how it could quietly reshape what millions of people see online, and why it looks less like protecting the public and more like creeping state-backed control of the information space. Email feedback here: [email protected] Here is the full proposal: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/watch-this-space-a-new-strategic-direction-for-uk-media-green-paper-and-public-consultation/watch-this-space-a-new-strategic-direction-for-uk-media-green-paper-and-public-consultation Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: Andrew Gold

Topics covered

  • media control
  • social media
  • government policy
  • legacy media
  • information space

Keywords

  • UK government
  • social media
  • legacy channels
  • BBC
  • information control

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: UK government, BBC, Megaphone

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