30 July 2026
BOLD VOICES: The 15 Most Influential Journalists in Social Media
The new newsroom is everywhere
A year ago, we made the case that journalists had become brands in their own right. In 2026, that shift has gone even further.
The line between “journalist” and “content creator” has all but disappeared. Some of the most trusted voices shaping how people understand the world right now wouldn’t call themselves journalists at all – and yet they’re doing the job: checking, verifying, and explaining, story by story, post by post. Meanwhile, journalists at major mastheads are taking investigations that once lived in longform print and rebuilding them from the ground up for the feed, without losing an ounce of rigour.
This year’s Power List reflects that blur.
It celebrates 15 voices – some with press cards, some without – who are earning real trust with real audiences, in formats built for how people actually consume information today. They’re breaking investigations on TikTok, explaining the news in group chats, and turning journalism on its head.
For PRs and comms professionals, this matters more than ever. The people setting the agenda aren’t always the ones in your media database. The most valuable relationships you can build this year might be with voices who don’t fit your existing categories – and the brands that figure that out first will be the ones that stay relevant.
We’ve again asked some of this year’s featured voices to share their own reflections on what’s changed. Their answers offer a genuinely useful look at how influence, trust and collaboration are evolving in real time.
We hope this remains a valuable resource for anyone trying to make sense of where journalism is heading next – and who’s actually taking it there.
Download the full version of Bold Voices below, featuring interviews with influential journalists on our Power List 2026.
Our 2025 Power List
Mimi Yates
Multimedia Journalist
Daily Mail
Mimi is redefining what investigative journalism looks like for a social-first generation. Her social-first reporting on Deliveroo drivers showed that hard-hitting investigations don’t need to be confined to print or longform – they can be built for the feed from the ground up, and still land with real impact and engagement. On her personal channels, she pulls back the curtain on how investigations actually come together, walking Gen Z audiences through the legwork, sourcing and verification behind a story. She’s proving that transparency about process can build just as much trust as the finished piece.
Sophie Thompson
Assistant Editor
Indy 100
Sophie is a powerhouse in digital publishing and one of the most influential voices in lifestyle media. As Assistant Editor at Indy100, she helps shape the stories, trends and cultural moments dominating social feeds and group chats alike, with an instinct for spotting what audiences are talking about before it hits the mainstream. Her output spans everything from internet culture to lifestyle trends, making her a trusted barometer of where conversation is heading next. That instinct for consumer behaviour has put her firmly on the radar of virtually every lifestyle brand looking to stay relevant.
Check it Alex
Content Creator
@checkitalex (Instagram)
Alex sits at the most interesting edge of this list – a self-described non-journalist who’s nonetheless become a trusted source of checked, reliable information for a large and genuinely engaged audience. Across UK news roundups, foodie finds, bargain alerts and everyday life content, Alex has built a format that feels more like a savvy mate doing the legwork for you than traditional reporting. That’s exactly what makes the account worth watching: it represents a new kind of information gatekeeper, one PRs and brands need to understand even if it doesn’t fit neatly into old definitions of “journalist.” For consumer and lifestyle brands especially, this is the shape influence is increasingly taking.
Mared Parry
Editorial Content Lead
Betches UK
Mared is shaping Betches’ iconic US tone of voice for a UK audience, leading on editorial strategy, social output and growth as the brand launches here. Her career spans senior editorial roles at Hearst UK, Luxury London Magazine and Mail Metro Media, alongside bylines for The Independent, Evening Standard and The Mirror, giving her a rare breadth across both legacy publishing and social-first content. Mared represents the kind of multi-hyphenate media career increasingly defining influence today: equally at home building a brand’s voice from scratch as she is in front of a camera.
Honey Wyatt
Shopping Editor
HuffPost
Honey brings a refreshingly joined-up approach to commerce and lifestyle journalism, hosting Sextras, a sex and relationships podcast that sits alongside her day job covering shopping trends. That combination makes her a useful bridge between commerce, lifestyle, relationships and creator-led journalism – proof that the best service journalism today often comes with a distinct personal voice attached. Her work reflects how shopping and lifestyle content has evolved from simple recommendations into genuine cultural commentary.
Ashleigh Spiliopoulou
Freelance
Women’s Health, Fitness
& Lifestyle
Ashleigh brings fresher, more emerging energy to this year’s list, having pivoted into journalism full-time in 2025 after a background in PR and social media management. Published across Condé Nast Traveller, Glamour, Stylist, Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire, she covers women’s health, fitness, mental health and careers with the social fluency of someone who’s worked both sides of the media relationship. Beyond her byline, she hosts events through her run club, Sunnie Runners, building community as much as content. Her own career story – landing her dream role after cold-emailing an employer she’d found on Instagram – has been held up as a Gen Z “shoot your shot” example, making her a strong fit for a list defined by new routes into influence.
Sophia
Money-Coutts
Columnist / Freelance Journalist
Daily Telegraph
Sophia has built one of the clearest voice-led personal brands in British lifestyle journalism. A former Tatler features director turned columnist, author and broadcaster, she writes with a distinctive mix of humour, social observation and modern etiquette – covering everything from interiors and manners to relationships, dogs and the absurdities of everyday life. That voice extends well beyond the page, through Instagram, her Substack Onwards and Sideways!, and her podcast The Poshcast. She’s a strong addition to this list because she shows how a journalist’s influence can come not just from what they cover, but from the world they build around their tone, taste and point of view.
Nick Bolwell
Lead Social Creative
Daily Mail
Nick has built a strong reputation for creating social-first journalism that makes major live moments feel immediate, accessible and made for the feed. From Formula 1 to the Euros and beyond, he combines sharp editorial instinct with the pace and visual language audiences expect on social. He works both behind and in front of the camera, creating original Daily Mail content rather than simply repackaging existing coverage. His work shows how a major news publisher can use personality, presence and platform-native storytelling to earn attention in crowded social spaces.
Laurence Moss
Founder
The Brit Spot
Laurence has been building niche communities on Instagram since the age of 14, starting a social media agency from the back of his secondary school classroom before evolving it into a full media company. He now runs The Brit Spot, a Gen Z publisher reaching 1 in 3 Brits aged 18-27 every month – a reach figure that rivals plenty of legacy news brands. Having worked with the likes of Santander, Meta and Papa Johns, Laurence shows how commercial savvy and youth-first publishing can scale into genuine cultural influence. He’s a strong example of the entrepreneurial, platform-native media model increasingly competing with traditional newsrooms for Gen Z attention.
Gareth Howells
Founder
HunsNet
Gareth has built a career out of culture, nostalgia and humour, turning HunsNet from a meme page into a distinct media voice. Through smart, shareable content, sell-out live events and scroll-stopping brand campaigns, he’s proven that early-00s nostalgia can be commercially robust and culturally relevant. He’s now developing his profile further as a commentator and creative in the cultural space – someone who knows how to make audiences laugh, feel seen, and remember the brand behind it. He represents a growing breed of media voice built on humour and shared cultural memory rather than traditional news values, and one increasingly hard for brands to ignore.
Sophie Peachey
Journalist
The Times
Sophie represents the new generation of reporters proving that serious journalism doesn’t have to live behind a print front page. Since joining The Times, she’s been producing deeply reported features on complex social issues – from Britain’s growing “antinatalist” movement to shifting attitudes among young people. Her reporting extends from online articles to engaging social-first video explainers that bring investigations to new audiences. Sophie understands that impactful journalism today isn’t just about breaking stories, but about making them accessible wherever audiences choose to consume them.
Rhiannon Ingle
Senior Journalist
Tyla (LADbible Group)
Rhiannon works at the intersection of trends, lifestyle and public interest reporting, spottting conversations before they blow up online, strengthening them with original reporting, expert voices and exclusive interviews. Whether she’s unpacking viral dating trends, investigating women’s health issues or speaking to organisations about domestic abuse, she consistently turns internet moments into genuinely useful journalism. Her work proves that fast-paced digital publishing and rigorous reporting aren’t mutually exclusive – and that some of the most influential journalism today is happening in social-first newsrooms.
Alina Khan
Money Reporter
The i
Alina is helping redefine financial journalism for audiences who are more likely to discover money advice on Instagram than in the business pages. Alongside her work for The i, she’s building “Money with Alina” into a destination for clear, practical financial guidance that demystifies everything from budgeting to investing. Rather than simply republishing articles on social media, she adapts complex financial reporting into accessible, engaging content that meets audiences where they are. She’s part of a growing wave of journalists building trust not just through their publication, but through their own voice and community.
Cormac Kehoe
Journalist
London Centric / BBC Radio 4
Cormac knows how to turn the news cycle into social content people actually stop for. Alongside his reporting
for Jim Waterson’s London Centric, he does the investigative legwork behind BBC Radio 4’s Naked Week –
finding the detail, angle and cultural hook that can turn a week’s headlines into sharp, funny and highly shareable storytelling.
Daisy Reed
Head of Social
SheerLuxe / LuxeGen
Daisy has spent nearly four years rising through SheerLuxe, from social media assistant to Head of Social across SheerLuxe, LuxeGen, SL Middle East and SLMan – making her one of the people actually shaping the brand’s social-first identity day to day, not just appearing on camera. She also co-hosts The Group Chat podcast and co-leads LuxeGen, SheerLuxe’s Gen Z platform for fashion, beauty and life advice, putting her on both the strategy and talent side of the business. Her timing couldn’t be better: she’s now part of the team navigating SheerLuxe’s £40m acquisition by Future, one of this year’s biggest UK lifestyle media moves.