Talk

The New Gatekeepers: Culture, Media and Power in the Algorithmic Age

Cenk Uygur with Myriam François

Date and Time:: Wednesday 3 June, 4.30–6.30pm
Location:: Majlis

Who shapes public discourse today? Is it the media we consume that shapes our beliefs, or do our cultural and ideological affinities increasingly determine the media we choose to trust?

As founder and CEO of TYT and host of The Young Turks, Cenk Uygur has been at the forefront of the shift from traditional broadcasting to platform-driven media. In conversation with journalist, filmmaker and writer Myriam François, he will reflect on the relationship between media infrastructures, public discourse and cultural production at a moment when information travels faster, audiences are more fragmented, and authority is increasingly contested.

Together, they will discuss the changing landscape of journalism, the rise of independent media, and the role culture can play in shaping how we understand the world around us.

Doors open at 4pm; event starts at 4.30pm and ends at 6.30pm.

Cenk Uygur is the founder and CEO of TYT and the host of The Young Turks, the first partner channel on YouTube and the longest-running daily online news and political commentary program. He is also the co-founder of Justice Democrats and the bestselling author of Justice Is Coming.

With a verified global audience generating more than 200 million views per month and over 31 billion total video views, TYT has become one of the most influential independent news and politics networks in the world. Uygur launched The Young Turks as Sirius Satellite Radio’s first original talk show in 2002 and uploaded its first video to YouTube in 2005. Since then, TYT has consistently been a leading source of news and political commentary for young, progressive audiences.

In addition to TYT, Uygur hosted The Young Turks on Current TV, where it became the channel’s most popular program during its two-year run. He also hosted MSNBC Live at 6 p.m. ET and has appeared on CNN, ABC News’ This Week with George Stephanopoulos, NPR, Voice of America, Fox News Channel, Breaking Points, Brian Tyler Cohen, Tucker Carlson, and numerous other media outlets.

Dr. Myriam François is an award-winning journalist, filmmaker, and international speaker whose career spans from Hollywood to hard-hitting global current affairs. A former child actress—acclaimed for her role as Margaret Dashwood in the Oscar-winning Sense and Sensibility (1995)—she has since spent over a decade broadcasting for the BBC, Channel 4, and Al Jazeera. Named a One World Media "Filmmaker to Watch," her recent directorial documentary debut, Finding Alaa, was BAFTA-selected and premiered at Hot Docs and the Nobel Peace Center.

She is the founder of MPWR Productions and the creator/host of The Tea, one of the digital space's fastest-growing independent current affairs platforms. Since launching just over a year ago, the award-winning show has scaled organically to reach over 11 million people monthly, interviewing top-tier global voices like Jameela Jamil, Bassem Youssef, and Dr. Gabor Maté.

Recognized as one of the UK’s "100 Most Influential Muslim Women," Myriam is a prolific writer published in The Guardian, The Times, and Time magazine. She is a frequent speaker and moderator at world-class forums, including the Doha Forum and HowTheLightGetsIn. Bilingual in English and French, Myriam holds a BA from Cambridge, an MA from Georgetown, and a PhD in Middle East Politics from Oxford University.