How ‘newsfluencers’ will help define the news cycle in 2025
Creators are playing a growing role in the news ecosystem. Fabulate’s Nathan Powell looks at the impact of the growing sway these creators have and some of the Australian ‘newsfluencers’ who are likely to play a role in the upcoming federal election.
If you ever wanted a tangible sign of the upending of the traditional media’s dominance then the White House recently confirming it had received 11,000 applications for a “new media seat” in the media briefing room is a pretty clear sign of that.
As is Albo and Peter Dutton’s new love affair with podcasting and podcasters – be it interviews with Abbie Chatfield or Sam Fricker the pollies are definitely going to creators, not just journalists.
Clearly in Australia and the US, who is driving the news cycle is rapidly changing with creators gaining increasing influence.
As we move towards a federal election, traditional news outlets are no longer the sole gatekeepers of information—and we now have to grapple with the rise of the so-called ‘newsfluencer’.
These are often independent content creators, journalists, and commentators leveraging social platforms like Tiktok, Youtube, and Instagram to share and dare I say increasingly shape public discourse. They’re filling gaps, often left by legacy media, offering on-the-ground reporting, niche expertise, and unfiltered analysis to audiences hungry for diverse perspectives.
But that’s not to say journalists can’t also be newsfluencers.
Perhaps one of the most prominent “newsfluencers” in Australia is actually Channel 9’s finance editor Chris Kohler who has built substantial social followings on both Tiktok (81,000 followers), Instagram (493,000) and YouTube (277,000) with his often funny and always engaging short form videos that comment on business and finance issues.
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In recent months, Kohler has been one of Australia’s fastest-growing creators. However, follower counts don’t reflect his full reach, with some videos garnering up to 23 million views.
If I look at our Fabulate Discovery data on Kohler’s audience it shows a highly engaged audience, 84% of whom are Australians with the majority of those under 50. That’s a demographic that broadcast television is increasingly struggling to reach.
So, what is driving the rise of newsfluencers? To my mind there are a couple of factors at play.
Firstly, there is a level of trust and accessibility with these creators. All the research tells us there is declining trust in mainstream media, audiences are gravitating toward individuals they find relatable and transparent.
Take Will Stracke, a self-described ‘Trade Unionist. Feminist. Lesbian.’ She regularly simplifies complex news issues into digestible Tiktok videos.
@wilstracke Understanding the past can help us think our way to the future. #australiaday #change #australia #british #colonisation #unionjack #flag
Stracke only has some 88,000 followers on Tiktok but she averages around 63,000 views and, like Kohler, has high engagement and a young audience.
Newsfluencers are mastering audience-driven news. Unlike traditional outlets that rely on top-down editorial decisions, they respond in real time to audience feedback, covering topics mainstream media may overlook.
For example, look at Young Liberal Freya Leach’s video last month on the topic of Albanese’s new policy on aluminum imports and renewables.
Despite only having 12,300 followers, Leach has used the platform and her political takes to build a growing media profile, even being invited to be a guest on the ABC’s panel show Q&A.
We have also seen creators directly impacting policy and raising the profile of certain political issues. Perhaps the most obvious of these is Purple Pingers, aka Jordan van den Lamb.
Van den Lamb is an activist who came to prominence through using Tiktok to mock real estate agents for their “shit rentals”.
@purplepingers Shit rentals with Melvin #richmond #melbourne #shitrentalsofmelbourne #australia #realestate
The BBC has called him the “Robin Hood Tiktoker taking on Australian landlords” and it’s fair to say at times he has been controversial publicising houses that might be vacant or encouraging squatting. But in doing so he has also picked up a substantial following of more than 200,000 followers on TikTok.
Love him or hate him it’s undeniable that Purple Pingers has built not just a strong following online but also a strong media profile that will see him be a high profile candidate when he runs for the Victorian Socialists as a Senate candidate in the upcoming federal election.
We are also moving rapidly towards a federal election that could be called in a matter of weeks. For the media, the poll will raise some interesting questions – like will we see major newsrooms and media companies collaborating with, competing against, or even hiring newsfluencers?
Will Kohler, Stracke, Leach and van den Lamb are just a few of a growing number of notable “newsfluencer” accounts in Australia that will impact our news cycles over the coming months. But they are far from the only ones, for example you can expect comedian Dan Illic on Instagram with his “It’s Not A Race” account to play a very real role in the campaign having fundraised and set up a team of meme creators, or on the right expect to hear from Carla Efstatiou with via her “Go Woke, Go Broke” Tiktok account.
At 68, former Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson AC has also entered the Tiktok fray interviewing certain right wing experts on issues he cares about while on YouTube and Linkedin Konrad Benjamin will be there with his comic hot political takes.
These creators will undoubtedly influence the upcoming election. As Australia navigates this evolving ‘creator media’ era, one thing is clear: the rise of newsfluencers isn’t just a trend or aberration—they are a major change within our mediascape. The sooner we come to terms with that the better for journalism, the media and our wider discourse.
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Punters Politics is worth a go too aye…
Appreciated this overview. Personally, I’m loving Chris Kohler’s straight to the bone points and his superdry delivery is mesmerising.
I’d suggest the ‘newsfluencer’ (ugh) space is not just about portrait-format short clips. friendlyjordies is one of the OGs, and Breaking Points excells at US and international coverage.