Latest news with #Wootton
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
GB News outcasts take fight for the Right on to YouTube
After being sacked from GB News in what he branded 'one of the biggest MSM [mainstream media] beat-ups in history', Dan Wootton soon found a new home for his tirades: YouTube. 'We are increasingly becoming an authoritarian state where dissident voices are taken down by wholesale abuses of the political and legal system,' he declared in the first episode of his Outspoken show last year. Wootton, who claims his daily broadcast provides news and opinion with 'no spin, no bias and no censorship', is not alone in moving to the platform. He has been joined by a number of other former GB News presenters – as well as a wider group of alt-Right figures – attempting to wield power over Britain's Right through their own media ventures. It is a tactic that has enjoyed remarkable success in Trump's America. But as UK news outlets move ever further into opinion-led programming and maintain their hold over audiences, can this new breed of influencers repeat the trick here? Wootton, a New Zealand-born former senior editor at The Sun, now has more than 334,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, which is sponsored by anti-ageing supplements and an underwear brand. He also clips up excerpts of his show on TikTok. Credit: YouTube/ Dan Wootton Outspoken He is currently embroiled in a High Court case over allegations that he 'catfished' a former colleague and tricked them into sending explicit images by pretending to be a woman. Other GB News figures have followed suit. Laurence Fox and Calvin Robinson, who were also ousted from the broadcaster in the wake of sexist remarks made by Fox on Wootton's show, have established YouTube channel Reclaim The Media, which they describe as an 'antidote to our biased MSM'. After being ejected from the airwaves, these figures have joined a small but vocal group of online influencers attempting to influence Right-wing British politics. Carl Benjamin, who also uses the pseudonym Sargon of Akkad, has been a prominent figure on YouTube in recent years and in 2020 set up Lotus Eaters, which now hosts Robinson's Common Sense Crusade show. Triggernometry, a self-proclaimed free speech channel set up by comedians Konstantin Kisin and Francis Foster, has racked up more than 1.3m subscribers, while more recently Reform has been attempting to boost its youth support base through 22-year-old activist and TikTok influencer Nicholas Lissack. In many ways, the shift online is a facsimile of the step change in US media, where the alt-Right has gained ground since Donald Trump's first administration. This has only accelerated with his second term in office as close ally Elon Musk has used his ownership of X to turn the social media platform into a Maga mouthpiece. Podcasters such as Joe Rogan played a crucial role in determining the outcome of the 2024 election, particularly by harnessing the support of young men. The influence exerted by these figures is now such that Tim Pool, a pro-Trump podcaster accused of taking money from Russia to promote Kremlin propaganda, was this week granted a question at a White House press briefing, even as established outlets such as the Associated Press have been excluded. Would-be British influencers are now trying to mimic the trend as they capitalise on what they view as dwindling trust in conventional media outlets. 'The appeal is the same as you're seeing in the US. It's this distrust of traditional media amongst a particular group of people,' says Nic Newman, at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. 'And now the ability to listen to somebody who you identify with, whose view you share and is representing things that previously wouldn't have been seen on mainstream TV.' There are other motivations for moving online as audiences increasingly ditch traditional TV. Piers Morgan last year quit Rupert Murdoch's TalkTV to pursue his own show on YouTube, describing his nightly broadcast slot as a 'straitjacket'. But for the GB News rejects and other alt-Right figures, the move to social media reflects a desire to exert influence over the political right with viewpoints that would not be allowed on regulated broadcast TV. Wootton, who was also sacked as a columnist by the Daily Mail, frequently launches personal attacks on Sir Keir Starmer and his wife. He has criticised Farage's 'tack to the centre', suggesting he should take a harder line on Islam, and called for 'some kind of union' on the Right. On Reclaim The Media, Fox and Robinson similarly accused Farage of trying to 'appease' Islam, while branding the Reform leader the 'wokest politician in Westminster'. In a monologue on Triggernometry this week, Kisin branded the trans debate 'quite possibly the most insane manifestation of woke ideology we've seen'. Credit: YouTube/ Reclaim The Media Former prime minister Liz Truss, meanwhile, has gone further, announcing plans to launch her own social media platform, claiming that the mainstream media and 'deep state' were stifling free speech. But while the proliferation of online media and influencers undoubtedly helped to catapult Trump into the White House, can these fringe figures exert as much influence in Britain? Media analyst Alex DeGroote points out that these UK personalities have a 'comparatively tiny' following compared to the likes of Joe Rogan, who has almost 20m subscribers on YouTube and pulls in 50m listeners per episode to his podcast. 'Their guests are a lot less high profile than Rogan, and he has also had the sponsorship of Spotify,' DeGroote adds. Research by the Reuters Institute last year revealed that established media brands such as the BBC and Sky still gain the most attention on social media in the UK and are more likely to be challenged on YouTube and TikTok by smaller upstarts like PoliticsJoe and LadBible than by influencers or personalities. Among individuals, the two most frequently mentioned accounts last year were those of LBC's James O'Brien and ITV political editor Robert Peston, suggesting that Britons still gravitate towards journalists at traditional media outlets. This trend underscores the continued power of Britain's public service broadcasting system. The latest industry survey by Ofcom showed that, while in decline, BBC One remains the country's most popular individual news source. At the same time, commercial outlets such as GB News and LBC have expanded further into opinion-led programming, while podcasts including The News Agents and The Rest is Politics have scooped up large audiences seeking news and current affairs in a less staid format. 'I think we're definitely seeing the same trends towards personality-led opinion because it's cheap and the algorithms really support it,' says Newman of the Reuters Institute. 'But it's just happening to a much smaller extent here because the news brands are much stronger.' There are cultural differences, too. In the US, many of these social media influencers are effectively cheerleaders for Trump. In Britain, by contrast, this new breed of alt-Right influencers espouse an incoherent array of beliefs, united by little beyond a tendency towards anti-government and anti-establishment viewpoints. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that the tides are shifting. Having been the main source for news since the 1960s, TV has now been dethroned as Britons are just as likely to access information through online news sites and apps. And with a younger generation brought up on social media, this trend seems likely to continue. As a result, DeGroote argues that there is room in the UK media landscape for Right-wing personalities to escape their current niche and break out into the mainstream. 'The Rest is Politics and The News Agents are successful podcasts and clearly partisan on the Left wing,' he says. 'There is a gap in the market, but the offerings need to be more muscular to attract younger guys.' To date, UK politics has not suffered the same levels of polarisation as across the pond. But as debate rages on in key political battlegrounds such as immigration and trans rights, Britain's new breed of alt-Right influencers show no sign of quietening down. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. 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Telegraph
26-04-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
The GB News rejects trying to conquer YouTube
After being sacked from GB News in what he branded 'one of the biggest MSM [mainstream media] beat-ups in history', Dan Wootton soon found a new home for his tirades: YouTube. 'We are increasingly becoming an authoritarian state where dissident voices are taken down by wholesale abuses of the political and legal system,' he declared in the first episode of his Outspoken show last year. Wootton, who claims his daily broadcast provides news and opinion with 'no spin, no bias and no censorship', is not alone in moving to the platform. He has been joined by a number of other former GB News presenters – as well as a wider group of alt-Right figures – attempting to wield power over Britain's Right through their own media ventures. It is a tactic that has enjoyed remarkable success in Trump's America. But as UK news outlets move ever further into opinion-led programming and maintain their hold over audiences, can this new breed of influencers repeat the trick here? Wootton, a New Zealand-born former senior editor at The Sun, now has more than 334,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, which is sponsored by anti-ageing supplements and an underwear brand. He also clips up excerpts of his show on TikTok. He is currently embroiled in a High Court case over allegations that he 'catfished' a former colleague and tricked them into sending explicit images by pretending to be a woman. Other GB News figures have followed suit. Laurence Fox and Calvin Robinson, who were also ousted from the broadcaster in the wake of sexist remarks made by Fox on Wootton's show, have established YouTube channel Reclaim The Media, which they describe as an 'antidote to our biased MSM'. After being ejected from the airwaves, these figures have joined a small but vocal group of online influencers attempting to influence Right-wing British politics. Carl Benjamin, who also uses the pseudonym Sargon of Akkad, has been a prominent figure on YouTube in recent years and in 2020 set up Lotus Eaters, which now hosts Robinson's Common Sense Crusade show. Triggernometry, a self-proclaimed free speech channel set up by comedians Konstantin Kisin and Francis Foster, has racked up more than 1.3m subscribers, while more recently Reform has been attempting to boost its youth support base through 22-year-old activist and TikTok influencer Nicholas Lissack. In many ways, the shift online is a facsimile of the step change in US media, where the alt-Right has gained ground since Donald Trump's first administration. This has only accelerated with his second term in office as close ally Elon Musk has used his ownership of X to turn the social media platform into a Maga mouthpiece. Podcasters such as Joe Rogan played a crucial role in determining the outcome of the 2024 election, particularly by harnessing the support of young men. The influence exerted by these figures is now such that Tim Pool, a pro-Trump podcaster accused of taking money from Russia to promote Kremlin propaganda, was this week granted a question at a White House press briefing, even as established outlets such as the Associated Press have been excluded. Would-be British influencers are now trying to mimic the trend as they capitalise on what they view as dwindling trust in conventional media outlets. 'The appeal is the same as you're seeing in the US. It's this distrust of traditional media amongst a particular group of people,' says Nic Newman, at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. 'And now the ability to listen to somebody who you identify with, whose view you share and is representing things that previously wouldn't have been seen on mainstream TV.' There are other motivations for moving online as audiences increasingly ditch traditional TV. Piers Morgan last year quit Rupert Murdoch's TalkTV to pursue his own show on YouTube, describing his nightly broadcast slot as a 'straitjacket'. But for the GB News rejects and other alt-Right figures, the move to social media reflects a desire to exert influence over the political right with viewpoints that would not be allowed on regulated broadcast TV. Wootton, who was also sacked as a columnist by the Daily Mail, frequently launches personal attacks on Sir Keir Starmer and his wife. He has criticised Farage's 'tack to the centre', suggesting he should take a harder line on Islam, and called for 'some kind of union' on the Right. On Reclaim The Media, Fox and Robinson similarly accused Farage of trying to 'appease' Islam, while branding the Reform leader the 'wokest politician in Westminster'. In a monologue on Triggernometry this week, Kisin branded the trans debate 'quite possibly the most insane manifestation of woke ideology we've seen'. Former prime minister Liz Truss, meanwhile, has gone further, announcing plans to launch her own social media platform, claiming that the mainstream media and 'deep state' were stifling free speech. But while the proliferation of online media and influencers undoubtedly helped to catapult Trump into the White House, can these fringe figures exert as much influence in Britain? Media analyst Alex DeGroote points out that these UK personalities have a 'comparatively tiny' following compared to the likes of Joe Rogan, who has almost 20m subscribers on YouTube and pulls in 50m listeners per episode to his podcast. 'Their guests are a lot less high profile than Rogan, and he has also had the sponsorship of Spotify,' DeGroote adds. Research by the Reuters Institute last year revealed that established media brands such as the BBC and Sky still gain the most attention on social media in the UK and are more likely to be challenged on YouTube and TikTok by smaller upstarts like PoliticsJoe and LadBible than by influencers or personalities. Among individuals, the two most frequently mentioned accounts last year were those of LBC's James O'Brien and ITV political editor Robert Peston, suggesting that Britons still gravitate towards journalists at traditional media outlets. This trend underscores the continued power of Britain's public service broadcasting system. The latest industry survey by Ofcom showed that, while in decline, BBC One remains the country's most popular individual news source. At the same time, commercial outlets such as GB News and LBC have expanded further into opinion-led programming, while podcasts including The News Agents and The Rest is Politics have scooped up large audiences seeking news and current affairs in a less staid format. 'I think we're definitely seeing the same trends towards personality-led opinion because it's cheap and the algorithms really support it,' says Newman of the Reuters Institute. 'But it's just happening to a much smaller extent here because the news brands are much stronger.' There are cultural differences, too. In the US, many of these social media influencers are effectively cheerleaders for Trump. In Britain, by contrast, this new breed of alt-Right influencers espouse an incoherent array of beliefs, united by little beyond a tendency towards anti-government and anti-establishment viewpoints. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that the tides are shifting. Having been the main source for news since the 1960s, TV has now been dethroned as Britons are just as likely to access information through online news sites and apps. And with a younger generation brought up on social media, this trend seems likely to continue. As a result, DeGroote argues that there is room in the UK media landscape for Right-wing personalities to escape their current niche and break out into the mainstream. 'The Rest is Politics and The News Agents are successful podcasts and clearly partisan on the Left wing,' he says. 'There is a gap in the market, but the offerings need to be more muscular to attract younger guys.' To date, UK politics has not suffered the same levels of polarisation as across the pond. But as debate rages on in key political battlegrounds such as immigration and trans rights, Britain's new breed of alt-Right influencers show no sign of quietening down.
BBC News
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Universal Bedford theme park could get trains from Europe
Trains from continental Europe could reach Universal's new UK theme park if improvements to a railway station are made, a council meeting has been attraction is due to be built on the site of the former Kempston Hardwick brickworks, near Conservative mayor Tom Wootton told Bedford Borough Council's executive committee the government had asked for work on nearby Wixams railway station to be paused while proposals for a larger station are considered, adding that this could possibly accommodate trains from abroad. The Department for Transport (DfT) said the government would ensure the project was "well connected and easily accessible". The mayor told the meeting: "It does mean for the residents of Wixams a small pause while they get a very, very large four [platformed] train station that will even have a roof, I am told."But also it is told that they're probably thinking or bringing trains from further afield than London, possibly even abroad."Currently, a Eurostar service runs from Europe to London via the Channel Tunnel with a stop at Marne-la-Vallée–Chessy station, near Disneyland Paris."If we get the platforms right, so that a certain train can come all the way from France, that does ease a lot of problems and I'm looking forward to it," said Mr mayor added these were "rumours" he had heard and plans for the station had not yet been confirmed. Proposals to build a station at Wixams, a new town close to Bedford, were first made in July 2024 Bedford Borough Council agreed to enter an agreement with Network Rail to construct a two-platform station at a cost of £ has previously promised it would upgrade the station with two extra the mayor has said the council will no longer fund the construction due to negotiations between Universal and the Wootton told the BBC: "We're not going to be faced with that burden. It's going to be a national government thing and that's part of the negotiations with Universal."We've now heard from the government that we should cease work because they'd have to tear down some of the work we do because they have plans now to build a four-platform, very large station.""They'll be building the station and it won't be the little old council that's building a village station. There's going to be something a lot bigger."In a statement, a DfT spokesperson said: "As part of the Plan for Change, the government will commit to a major investment in infrastructure around the site to support the delivery of the project and ensure it is well connected and easily accessible."Further details on government plans for infrastructure investment around the site will be set out in due course." Eurostar services used to stop in Kent at Ashford International and Ebbsfleet International stations, but this stopped during the Covid-19 pandemic and never Mr Wootton was asked if it was realistic that Eurostar could operate to Bedfordshire, he responded: "Anything is possible."If you I had said to you a year ago that we're going to have 450-acre theme park here, people would have laughed."If I say to you now: 'We're building a train station, make sure it's big enough that we can have very large French trains come,' I think that's a possibility. We're just asking for the platforms to be a bit longer."Eurostar has been asked for comment. Labour MP for Bedford and Kempston, Mohammad Yasin, told the idea of trains coming from Europe was "exciting".He continued: "There are speculations; people are talking about it. If it happens I will fully support it but I've not heard from anybody yet."It can happen. I will be speaking with the relevant people in the coming days and months. It's a possibility; we have to make sure it's a reality. We will work towards it"It would be really, really exciting. Bedford would be linked straight with Europe." Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
21-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Rail warning for Aston Villa fans ahead of Wembley FA Cup match
Aston Villa supporters travelling to Wembley by train have been collectively issued with travel advice from rail are set to play Crystal Palace in the FA Cup semi-final, which kicks off at 17:15 BST on were advised that train travel on the day was expected to be "very busy" with "limited rail services in operation" from London to Birmingham post-match, Chiltern Railways operators in the region have also reminded customers to check their journeys and to plan ahead and purchase tickets in advance of travelling. Chiltern Railways will operate direct services from Warwick Parkway to Wembley Stadium on the day, with Avanti West Coast and London Northwestern Railway operating services from Birmingham New Street to London Chiltern added fewer services would be in operation back to the West Midlands, should the match go into extra time and Wootton, head of the Grand Railway Collaboration, said she wanted to remind Villa fans that rail travel to and from the match would be "extremely busy"."The kick off time of 17:15 BST means that there will be limited rail services after the match for supporters returning to the West Midlands," she added."Please plan your trip in advance of travelling and you may want to consider extending your stay into the following day."No Chiltern train services would be in operation from Birmingham Moor Street, Solihull, Dorridge, Hatton, Lapworth or Warwick to London, a spokesperson added. Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Telegraph
08-04-2025
- Telegraph
Dan Wootton ‘pretended to be a woman to catfish ex-colleague'
Dan Wootton tricked a former colleague into sending explicit images by pretending to be a woman in a 'catfishing' case, the High Court heard. It is alleged that the former GB News presenter exchanged sexual messages with the claimant, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, while pretending to be 'Maria Joseph', and encouraged him to send explicit photographs and a video in 2010. Mr Wootton is accused of obtaining sexual images by deceit and the claimant, known as YXN, has lodged civil proceedings against him 'for damages for personal injuries and losses consequent on the defendant's intentional infliction of harm, misuse of confidential information, infringement of privacy and deceit'. At a hearing on Tuesday, Judge Roger Eastman said: 'The claim relates to what is colloquially referred to as a catfishing exercise whereby a person alleged to be the defendant (Mr Wootton) impersonated a fictitious person and induced the claimant into engaging in exchanges with that person of a sexualised nature. 'It transpired that the person was, as I say, completely fictitious and the claimant alleges that as a result of that activity he has suffered psychiatric damage.' Tuesday's hearing concerned an application by Mr Wootton's lawyers to set aside the anonymity order granted earlier this year to protect the identity of the claimant. But the judge ruled that the order will remain in place, saying there is 'clear evidence of potential adverse and serious adverse effect' on YXN if his identity is published. 'Flirtacious and sexualised' messages Justin Levinson, for the claimant, outlined the facts of his client's claim in written submissions, saying: 'In 2010, the defendant (Mr Wootton) communicated with the claimant via email and WhatsApp and Facebook messages, deceitfully pretending to be a female by the name of Maria Joseph. 'The messages became flirtatious and sexualised. 'The defendant sent to the claimant photographs of a female, which he falsely pretended was Maria Joseph/the person with whom the claimant was communicating. Some of the photographs showed the female partially or fully naked. 'The defendant also sent to the claimant a video of a man and woman having sexual intercourse, again pretending that the female was Maria Joseph/the person with whom the claimant was communicating.' Mr Levinson continued: 'In reliance on the defendant's purported good faith, flattering and in the induced belief that he was communicating with Maria Joseph, an unknown female who was interested in a sexual relationship with the claimant, the claimant responded to the messages in a flirtatious and sexualised manner. 'The defendant encouraged the claimant to send explicit photographs and a video of himself masturbating, which he did.' Samuel Rowe, for Mr Wootton, said in written submissions that the Metropolitan Police and Police Scotland investigated Mr Wootton over the allegation that he used fake online identities to obtain explicit images without consent and decided to take no further action. But on Tuesday, Mr Levinson said that, as far as he was aware, those investigations did not relate to the claimant's complaint but to other similar allegations. Mr Wootton, who did not appear at the hearing, has not yet filed a formal defence and no admissions have been made to the allegations, the court heard. Dino Nocivelli, from law firm Leigh Day, said: 'In hearing Dan Wootton's application that my client's anonymity order should be removed and his identity revealed, the court has heard the allegations of 'catfishing' against Dan Wootton and that he allegedly procured sexual images by deceitful means from my client. 'Although the alleged abuse my client has suffered does not afford him the automatic right to anonymity that is granted to victims of sexual assaults, we have successfully argued today that the anonymity order should stay in place to prevent compounding and aggravating the very matters that give rise to my client's claim.'
