C4 CEO: Social platforms should give ‘algorithmic prominence’ to public-service media

“The way in which Gen Z learn to judge fact, fiction and fairness as they grow older may become the defining issue of our age.”
During a speech on Thursday, Channel 4 CEO Alex Mahon called for urgent industry action and new regulation to ensure young consumers are able to find verified, independent news easily on social media platforms.
Excoriating the platforms, which she argued have “publicly announced a wanton abandonment of the pursuit of truth”, Mahon put forward three policy solutions to improve the capacity for social media users to access quality journalism.
3 recommendations
Speaking at a joint Channel 4 and Royal Television Society event in London, Mahon recommended that social media companies be required to introduce a “trustmark” — “an indicator of factual, trusted accuracy for content that emerges from professionally produced, regulated media”.
Mahon suggested such a mark could be derived from an independent standards-based certification. As she described it: “Not a mark of quality, but a mark of safety; not a recommendation, but a basic stamp of authenticity.”
Secondly, Mahon urged the government to institute regulation so that public-service media is required to be algorithmically prominent on social platforms.
“We have prominence on the EPG [electronic programming guide]. We have it on some, but not enough, smart TVs. But what we need urgently is prominence for public-service media content on social platforms,” she said. “It is essential we ensure quality is boosted, not throttled or shadow-banned.”
Finally, Mahon argued for greater data transparency requirements amid the development of generative AI and large language models, “so we know how they are using inputs” to provide responses to queries.
‘Too big to fail’? Industry reacts to Meta content moderation changes
In addition, Mahon expressed discontent that Meta, TikTok and YouTube are not classified as publishing businesses under US law, despite having the ability to change and control the algorithms that decide what individual users view on their platforms.
“They are perhaps the only people in the world who do not believe they are publishers or broadcasters and yet broadcast — every second — content that influences democratic discourse,” she said.
Moreover, platforms “can make their algorithms brush aside or skip over our news output in favour of news made up in someone’s living room”. She warned: “Our billions of views can turn overnight into mere millions.”
Broadcasters leaning in to social
Mahon’s comments come just weeks after Meta announced changes to its content moderation policy that allow for more hateful speech, misinformation and disinformation to spread on its platforms.
Similar changes had previously been instituted by X (formerly Twitter). Leaders of both companies, as well as TikTok, Google, and Amazon, have publicly expressed support for US president Donald Trump, a critic of the free press.
Still, Mahon believes it is incumbent on public-service media to “accelerate delivery of our news to these platforms where people consume”.
“Young people want their news to be rapid, easy, entertaining and digestible,” Mahon explained. “They want it to be timely, well-made, engaging and accessible. It needs to be in an appealing voice. We need to move from text to video, from long to summary, from our networks to theirs, and to be always entertaining and accessible. All while working to retain impartiality.”
Among the major UK commercial broadcasters, Channel 4 remains the biggest advocate of using social media for audience engagement. Channel 4 News publishes 25 pieces of content to social platforms daily and last year it achieved 1.8bn views across these platforms, according to Mahon.
A majority (57%) of these views were on TikTok, although it is worth noting that TikTok measures a “view” as equivalent to an exposure. As TikTok head of research and insights Jenny Fernandez has previously explained: “As soon as the video pops up, that’s considered a view.”
Mahon continued: “We have to create thumb-stopping content, not behave like people have tuned in to a 7pm broadcast. A package needs to be arresting from the first image and work hard to hold them for the next two seconds. Then we can retain them for the full item.”
Gender divide
Mahon’s statements coincided with the release of Channel 4’s latest study into 13- to 27-year-olds.
Initial takeaways from the research were revealed in The Sunday Times earlier in the week. They included the notable finding that more than half of Gen Z said they thought “the UK would be a better place if a strong leader was in charge who does not have to bother with parliament and elections”.
Mahon said this “should not surprise us”, given that young people have faced a “polycrisis” due to climate change and economic, technological and geopolitical turmoil.
Additional findings from the study indicated that 45% of young men said they feel promoting women’s equality has now led to discrimination against men.
Indeed, the survey found that a gender divide — rather than an educational divide — is driving an “ideological split” among young people, with women holding more liberal views on gender, immigration and racial justice than men.
“This gap reflects and is surely related to an attainment gap between young men and young women, particularly pronounced for white working-class men,” Mahon pointed out.
British solution needed
Mahon placed the blame for such unsavoury social developments among young people squarely at the feet of social platforms and their lack of capacity to address misinformation.
She suggested that the “defenders of the truth are always on the back foot”, adding that “lying is more exciting and fiction travels faster than fact”.
That said, Mahon warned of the “obvious fact” that young audiences will not revert to the media consumption of older cohorts, meaning the concerns caused by social media are unlikely to be ameliorated without direct intervention.
“Gen Z curate their own understanding of ‘the truth’ in ways that exacerbate a gender division and undermine the value of democracy,” Mahon concluded.
“Believe me, if we do not come up with a British solution, it is clear that international market forces will impose on us some other reality that we can regret at leisure.”