Nigel Farage’s rift with political rival Rupert Lowe is driving viewers from GB News to YouTube channels even further to the right, insiders say, as the insurgent broadcaster celebrates its fifth birthday.
Launched on 13 June 2021 as a right-wing challenger to the BBC, GB News was mocked for its amateurish production values and miniscule ratings.
Today its mix of opinionated debate and monologues by politician-presenters, led by Reform UK leader Farage, regularly attracts more viewers than Sky News and the BBC News channel.
Despite racking up total losses of £131m – and receiving a £100,000 Ofcom fine after repeated impartiality breaches – a bullish GB News has promised it will become “the UK’s biggest news channel” by 2028.
But its dominance of the right-wing space faces a new threat from YouTube channels tacking to the hard right, inspired by the rise of Lowe’s Restore Britain movement.
Insiders say the feud between Farage and Lowe – an MP forced out of Reform after a public showdown between the two – has left GB News looking like an “establishment” channel, as hot-button issues like Henry Nowak’s murder add fuel to inflammatory voices on the right.
Lowe claims Farage is using his influence at GB News – where he is a minority shareholder and hosts a prime-time weeknight show – to “ban” him from appearing live on the channel.
GB News declined to comment on the reporting in this story.
The feud between Restore Britain leader Rupert Lowe and Nigel Farage could drive GB News viewers to more right-wing rivals (Photo: PA)Lowe was last invited to appear on GB News in April, where he was interviewed by former Conservative minister Jacob Rees-Mogg. Restore later complained that the interview was pre-recorded and said critical remarks Lowe made about Farage were edited out.
Lowe embraced by GB News rivals on the right
Granted limited airtime on regulated TV channels, Lowe turned to X and Facebook, where he has 800,000 and 1.3m followers respectively, to build his profile as his party fights Reform for right-wing votes.
His videos, calling for the deportation of illegal immigrants and a ban on wearing the burqa, are regularly amplified by influential supporters, including Elon Musk and far-right activist Tommy Robinson, whose own YouTube channel has 728,000 subscribers.
As a licenced TV channel, GB News must abide by Ofcom’s rules on due impartiality, harm and offence. Shows on YouTube and social media are not bound by the regulator, which gives them free rein to air any opinions they like, although YouTube is still required to protect users from hate speech.
GB News recorded an average TV viewing audience of 100,000 in May but has 2.2m YouTube subscribers and 5m TikTok followers.
Lowe has been embraced by YouTube channels endorsing Restore’s hardline views including Outspoken, set up by Dan Wootton, the GB News presenter who quit after Ofcom found that his show allowed “misogynistic” remarks about a female journalist.
Lowe is a regular guest on Outspoken, which has 715,000 subscribers.
Mike Graham, a veteran broadcaster sacked by TalkTV for failing to co-operate with an investigation into a racist post on his Facebook account, is also now becoming a prominent right-wing YouTuber. His daily breakfast show, The Home of Common Sense, has 165,000 subscribers.
Winston Marshall, the former Mumford & Sons musician and son of GB News co-owner, hedge fund tycoon Sir Paul Marshall, has become an influential right-wing commentator whose twice-weekly YouTube show has 474,000 subscribers.
The younger Marshall’s call for a mine-laden “floating wall” to stop Channel migrant-boat crossings caused widespread controversy.
Farage’s influence at GB News questioned
Some right-wing media insiders described Farage’s influence on GB News as a problem for the channel.
Wootton told The i Paper: “In the half a decade since its launch, the editorial purpose of GB News has sadly changed to become effectively a propaganda outfit for Reform UK and put Nigel Farage in Downing Street. Many hosts are holding private conversations about running for Reform UK or taking roles in a Reform UK government.
“The emergence of Rupert Lowe and Restore Britain upsets that plan, hence his virtual ban from the channel. But for a channel which claims to be pro-free speech, it’s clearly an untenable position.”
Ex-GB News presenter Dan Wootton’s new YouTube channel has hosted Rupert Lowe as a regular guest (Image: Dan Wootton Outspoken/YouTube)One figure in the right-wing YouTube world said: “The Rupert Lowe ‘ban’ is a massive issue. It’s driving people to other uncensored outlets. GB News want to pretend he doesn’t exist but that can’t carry on.”
A GB News insider said of Farage: “There are many senior people most unhappy at the power wielded by a solitary presenter.”
The insider feared that GB News was “losing its outsider edge” as the channel seeks to comply with Ofcom rules to maintain its broadcasting licence.
Reform and Farage did not respond to requests for comment.
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