So much of what has been communicated on Maltese social media pages these last weeks have reflected the significant transformation of the media ecosystem.
It was a reality that slowly took shape over the last decade, but it is clear that trusted voices that once held power to account are increasingly sidelined. In their place, a new class of paid communicators, actors, journalists who moonlight as paid actors, and mediatic personalities, is stepping in – not to scrutinise, but to spin.
Take the government’s handling of its controversial planning bills. After a public backlash, officials chose not to engage with critical reporting but to commission explainers mixing comedy with half-serious interviews. The message between the lines?
- Those questioning the reforms are “confused”
- Citizens won’t understand the bills unless they rely on simplified, government-sanctioned explainers.
‘Do not listen to journalists or activists… listen to the fun version of what the planning reform is. Everyone else is trying to fool you…’
At the same time, Malta’s growing podcasting scene is also attempting to reshape the public square. Many market themselves as bastions of free expression, but to me their formats seem to reveal a different story:
- Tabula-rasa interviews that leave speakers unchecked, filling enough sponsor-backed airtime without scrutiny.
- Unquestioning platforms where controversial or discredited figures are given unearned legitimacy.
Look at Ricky Caruana’s podcast: his refusal to acknowledge reporting about his guests allows him to recast John Dalli or rogue landlords like Robert Borg as misunderstood seekers of justice.
Ricky tells his followers: ‘here is what really happened’, setting up his platform as a kind of antidote to pesky truth-telling journalism. What does he get from it? His own brand of trust, fucked up though it may be…
It’s not simply a question of adopting a ‘sponsored’ approach to public information. Actual journalists whose personalities are leveraged for paid advertorials, have become highly sought after by brands, political actors, and lobbyists. Why? Because their made-for-Instagram banter, soundbites, and quick-turn reels fit the social media ecosystem far better than the careful, sometimes unglamorous reporting of “staid” newspapers still tethered to truth.
And while this allows accountability to be avoided, airtime is gifted to those who thrive on undermining it. We are at the point where we can either choose journalism that challenges power, or content that flatters it.
It is also time for truth-based actors to respond
Instead of deriding or hitting out at those who either earn a living from creating this kind of obsequious content, we need to recognise how social-first actors can have the ability of outperforming traditional truth-based journalism – not because they’re better, but because they’re optimised for the digital arena.
Last week on LinkedIn, I saw an advert from CNN seeking producers for their Explainers team, to create “visually compelling and deeply reported videos that make complex stories understandable and engaging for a digital audience. This role is ideal for a curious and creative journalist with strong editorial instincts, solid scripting and producing skills, and a passion for turning the news into impactful visual storytelling.”
Caveat: CNN has the muscle, many Maltese newspapers have stretched-out newsrooms that are covering every single subject under the sun, which conditions them to stick to a tried-and-tested formula to report the news faithfully, the solid, foundational, last bastion of truth-telling.
It is clear that truth-driven communicators need to adapt without compromising integrity.
1. Reclaim the format
Newspapers and independent journalists must package truth in social-native formats: reels, shorts, carousels, live Q&As. Use humour, clarity, and visual storytelling to compete with paid actors. It’s not about dumbing down – it’s about meeting audiences where they are.
If I could pick that millennial start-up that drove a radical, non-mainstream news-political agenda to the smartphone, it would be Novara Media – its stories and analysis elevates critical perspectives and remains politically committed; crucially, they do not seek the middle-ground
2. Build trust through transparency
Behind-the-scenes content works: how are stories are researched, what checks are made, why do certain sources matter? Why don’t newspapers take time to explain their stories… audiences who distrust institutions will respond positively to transparency – it humanises the journalist.
These kind of explainers are becoming common ways of re-communicating stories, especially with the New York Times, showing the person behind the truth-telling.
3. Collaborate creatively
It is time to widen the pool: truth-telling news can partner up with artists, satirists, and digital creators to make serious issues engaging without diluting truth.
The Washington Post was an early adopter on TikTok but not to simply repost its content, but to create new TikTok-literate content. Think what that could achieve with your cartoonist or comedian, or something simpler, an Instagram live with an urban planner unpacking the planning bill fiasco.
4. Segment the audience
Not all readers want a 2,000-word deep dive. Again this is the great challenger that all newspapers have: why should we change what we have always been doing? The reality is that a social-first entry point has to become de rigeur in news planning.
Say:
– Ledes on Facebook and Instagram
– 60-second TikTok summary
– Full investigative feature
This way, audiences can engage at the level they choose.
5. Flip the script on “bad-faith” platforms
Creating the news/content that debunks what is being said by the spinners is OK.
But fact-checking can go beyond the report or analysis, by contextualising why certain voices are being platformed. Instead of relying on activists to reply to the spinners on Facebook… the press should join forces on a weekly “What you’re hearing vs. what’s missing” podcast that calls out omissions and untruths.
Make trust visible and shareable
I cannot see truth-based actors winning by copying paid performers.
When all is said and done, all readers rely on traditional newspapers to be told the truth… they might allow themselves to be entertained into considering different viewpoints – it is a marketplace of ideas after all – but as rational-minded actors guided by self-interest, they will ultimately seek out the press for information they can rely on.
So do not copy the paid content-creators, but modernise the format and own credibility. Trust is the most powerful USP of Maltese media, but in the noisy ecosystem we have cultivated, trust must be made visible and shareable.
