Odysee Unveils 'Portal' with Independent Media Alliance as Flagship Partner for New Decentralized Publishing Platform

Business Wire

3 days ago

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Odysee announces Portal, a groundbreaking decentralized publishing platform that will transform how independent media operates online. The Independent Media Alliance (IMA) — featuring prominent voices Whitney Webb, Derrick Broze, and Ryan Cristián of The Last American Vagabond — will serve as the flagship partner, operating as the first major Portal within Odysee's broader Decentralized Media Ecosystem (DME).
"Platforms shouldn't decide what audiences see or how creators connect with their communities," said Chandra. "We believe decentralization offers a better path forward — one that puts power back in the hands of journalists and the public."
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Odysee Founder and CEO Julian Chandra states the IMA is intended to showcase how decentralized technologies can empower independent media to maintain direct relationships with their audiences, free from the editorial filters and algorithmic controls of centralized platforms.
"Portal is about returning control to the creators," said Chandra. "The Independent Media Alliance shows how groups of journalists can build their own spaces, manage their own communities, and protect the integrity of their work without reliance on centralized platforms."
A Response to Centralized Censorship
The Independent Media Alliance emerges at a time of growing concern over censorship, deplatforming, and algorithmic suppression across major technology platforms. Many independent journalists argue that these dynamics restrict their ability to reach audiences, particularly on sensitive topics related to public health, foreign policy, and government accountability.
Whitney Webb, an investigative journalist known for her reporting on intelligence agencies and global corporate networks, has consistently warned about the dangers of media consolidation. Through her platform Unlimited Hangout, Webb has produced long-form investigations that challenge dominant narratives and highlight underreported stories.
"The online media landscape, despite the plummeting trust in mainstream media, has never been more weaponized and difficult to navigate," stated Webb. "By pooling our collective resources and creating some new resources, the goal is for this group of principled independent journalists and content creators, who have proven themselves over the past several years as willing to challenge official narratives even when difficult, to be able to withstand the increasing pressures of disseminating adversarial content in an increasingly adversarial social media landscape."
Similarly, Derrick Broze, founder of The Conscious Resistance Network, has advocated for decentralized alternatives to mainstream platforms. "Together we have the power to maximize our reach and counter false solutions and narratives which are infecting the indie media and 'truth community'," Broze said in a recent public statement endorsing the IMA's mission. "We believe there has never been a more important time for independent, principled journalists and content creators to collaborate more than ever."
The Last American Vagabond, led by Ryan Cristián, has gained a substantial following for its critical analysis of geopolitics, health freedom, and civil liberties. Cristián's work emphasizes the importance of transparency and the dangers of allowing centralized platforms to dictate the scope of public discourse. "At a time when objective, non-partisan media is under more attack than ever, and the two party illusion has never been more vulnerable, like the cornered animal it is, the system lashes out at those who try to change it," Cristián explains. "Whitney, Derrick and I decided to start this Independent Media Alliance to organize against this rising threat using objective, well-researched journalism and collaboration."
The creation of the Independent Media Alliance represents a collective effort by these and other figures to reclaim control over their work and to engage directly with their audiences without external interference. The alliance will conduct regular panels and debates featuring members and guests, collaborative investigations, and content distribution through Portal to ensure it cannot be easily censored.
Portal: A Decentralized Publishing Platform
Portal, developed by the Odysee Team, is a decentralized publishing system designed to allow communities and organizations to manage their own spaces independently of traditional centralized platforms. Functionally similar to website-building tools but with significant advantages, Portal provides the technical infrastructure for creators to launch customizable websites in a decentralized environment where they retain full control.
Rather than relying on external infrastructure, Portal users will be able to establish their own commenting systems, messaging functions, content moderation policies, monetization models, and customized site designs.
The Independent Media Alliance will operate as one such Portal. By controlling the tools for community interaction, content hosting, and financial support, the IMA intends to minimize reliance on centralized intermediaries and maintain full editorial autonomy. The platform will serve as a key distribution channel for the alliance's collaborative investigations and content focused on countering narratives around the "false two-party paradigm, support for imperial wars, 5th Generation Warfare, and technocratic solutions to legitimate problems."
The Odysee Team created Portal to offer organizations like the IMA a way to distribute and manage content without the risks of algorithmic suppression, deplatforming, or third-party moderation. Each Portal, including the IMA's, will function autonomously within the broader Decentralized Media Ecosystem.
"Platforms shouldn't decide what audiences see or how creators connect with their communities," said Chandra. "We believe decentralization offers a better path forward — one that puts power back in the hands of journalists and the public."
Key Advantages of Portal
Portal offers several critical advantages over traditional publishing platforms:
Content Sovereignty: Contributors retain legal ownership of their work unless explicitly transferred, making it ideal for collaborative publishing projects
Contributor Autonomy: Self-publishing or submission workflows can be customized without complex plugins
Enhanced Transparency: Built-in support for edit history and transparent moderation, with admins able to set their preferred level of openness
Decentralized Architecture: Content can be optionally stored on immutable, censorship-resistant platforms like Arweave
Structured Governance: Tailored for collectives or movements where multiple editors, contributors, and policies need to coexist
Seamless DME Integration: Native compatibility with the broader Decentralized Media Ecosystem for content syndication and sharing
A Growing Movement Toward Independent Infrastructure
The formation of the Independent Media Alliance reflects a broader movement among journalists, content creators, and activists seeking to build their own resilient infrastructure for communication and community-building. As centralized platforms face increased criticism over content moderation practices and political influence, the need for independent alternatives has become more urgent.
Those close to the project describe it as an effort to foster transparency, protect editorial independence, and create a sustainable alternative to traditional media channels.
"You're seeing a lot of established prominent creators increasingly launching their own micro-communities where they communicate directly with their audience separate from larger platforms," notes Chandra. "We're enabling a return closer to the diverse internet landscape of the past, where there were many different websites rather than just a few that everybody visits today."
Supporters argue that the Independent Media Alliance could serve as a model for how journalism can adapt to the challenges of the digital era — leveraging decentralized tools to maintain freedom of expression and ensure that critical reporting continues to reach audiences worldwide.
As the media landscape continues to evolve, the success of initiatives like the Independent Media Alliance may signal a turning point for how journalism organizes itself in a decentralized future — a future less dependent on corporate platforms and more rooted in direct relationships between creators and their communities.
About the Independent Media Alliance
The Independent Media Alliance (IMA) brings together several established independent journalists and media platforms, including:
Whitney Webb - Investigative journalist and founder of Unlimited Hangout, known for in-depth reporting on intelligence agencies and global corporate networks
Derrick Broze - Founder of The Conscious Resistance Network, investigative journalist, documentary film maker and advocate for decentralized media solutions
Ryan Cristián - Founder of The Last American Vagabond, focusing on geopolitics, health freedom, and civil liberties
The alliance aims to create a sustainable model for independent journalism through decentralized technology, direct audience relationships, and collaborative approaches to newsgathering and distribution.
About Odysee
Odysee is a Web3 video-sharing platform committed to free speech and creator sovereignty, serving over 15 million users worldwide. Founded and led by Julian Chandra, Odysee was acquired by Forward Research in 2024 to accelerate its mission of building a resilient, censorship-resistant media infrastructure. Through its integration with decentralized technologies like Arweave, Odysee strengthens its promise of content permanence, transparency, and user control.
Developed by the Odysee team, Portal is a decentralized publishing system that enables anyone to launch their own website or media hub with full ownership and no intermediaries. Creators and communities can independently control how their content is published, discovered, and monetized---without relying on centralized platforms or algorithms. As part of Odysee's broader Decentralized Media Ecosystem (DME), Portal empowers a new generation of independent media to thrive on their own terms.