The traditional newsroom is under siege, and the invaders aren’t just algorithms—they are individuals with smartphones and opinions. According to the latest insights from the Reuters Institute, 2026 marks a tipping point where generative AI and human “influencers” are squeezing traditional media institutions into a corner of perceived irrelevance.
We are moving away from the “Voice of God” breaking-news style and toward personality-led narratives. But as we trade the sterile newsroom for relatable TikTok feed, we have to ask the question we’d rather avoid: Are we prioritizing how a message makes us “feel” over whether the message is actually “true”?
‘Gen Z commentator’
This shift has birthed the Gabe Pineda phenomenon. Pineda is an online creator who recently went viral for his rhetoric against Vice President Sara Duterte’s polarizing 2022–2024 term as Department of Education (DepEd) secretary—a period primarily defined by debates over confidential funds, learning crisis, and underutilization.
Often categorized as a “Gen Z commentator,” Pineda isn’t just some guy with a ring light; he is a 2024 psychology graduate of the University of Santo Tomas, a husband, and a father. This isn’t the profile of a detached observer; it’s a profile of someone with skin in game.
With over 388,700 followers on TikTok, he has transformed from a student into a “contemporary voice” that feels like a neighbor rather than a lecturer. His wonderment as to why someone should be voted president when her stint as DepEd chief was hardly felt—“Nung DepEd secretary nga, di mo na naramdaman, i-boboto mo pang presidente”—is a masterclass in modern political communication. It didn’t just trend, it burned.
It isn’t a 2,000-word policy analysis, but a gut-level challenge to a status quo that many feel has left them behind—authentic, sharp, and resonates with a demographic that feels ignored by formal institutions. When Pineda posed a challenge to satisfied DepEd employees—“So by your logic, dahil maganda ang benefits niyong mga DepEd employees, okay si VP Sara? So papano yung mga estudyante?”—he wasn’t just reporting news; he was also framing a moral argument.
‘Conyo Final Boss’
Pineda is part of a growing lineage of creators who refuse to “stay in their lane,” much like the late Emman Atienza. Known as the “Conyo Final Boss,” Atienza used her platform of over 2.1 million followers to dismantle the idea that you can’t be both privileged and principled.
Before her passing in October 2025 at age 19, Atienza spoke with a raw honesty about political hypocrisy and the heavy but invisible weight of her own struggle with mental health. Her departure left a void that highlighted the reality of the internal battles she fought while publicly championing social change.
Atienza and Pineda represent a shift in which the “influencer” evolves into a sociopolitical lightning rod for the masses. Their existence poses the “question we’d rather avoid”: Can we trust a truth that is wrapped entirely in personality?
For a generation raised on the curated lies of polished advertisements, the answer is a resounding and definitive yes.
Conflict of interest
This is exactly what an article written by Nic Newman, a senior research associate of the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, warned about. Traditional media is often viewed as “less authentic” because it strives for a neutrality that can feel cold. Creators like Pineda and Atienza offer the opposite: unfiltered conviction.
However, there are hidden costs to this shift:
• The echo chamber effect. When we get our news from “personalities,” we are buying into their specific worldview.
• The loss of nuance. Complex issues, like education reform or national budgets, are often reduced to “viral-ready” soundbites. While Pineda’s questions are valid, the medium of the “influencer” rarely allows for the often-boring, structural explanations that institutional journalism provides.
• Accountability. If a newspaper gets a story wrong, there are boards, editors, and legal retractions. If an influencer gets a story wrong, it often just disappears into a deleted post or a pivot to a new topic.
The new reality
We cannot blame people for seeking out voices that they think can do justice to their experience. When institutions feel “less relevant,” people will naturally gravitate toward those who speak their language.
The backlash Pineda has received is a symptom of this friction—the old guard and the new guard clashing over who has the right to ask the questions.
We are gaining a more passionate form of accountability, but we are at risk of losing a shared floor of objective reality. Pineda and the late Atienza are not the “enemies” of news; they are a necessary wake-up call.
The “question we’d rather avoid” isn’t about whether Pineda is right or wrong. It’s about whether we, as a society, are still capable of consuming news that doesn’t come wrapped in a personality we like.
If we lose the “boring” institutions, we lose the baseline of shared facts. But if institutions don’t learn to be as “authentic” as the creators that emerge and hold the floor, they will speak to more empty rooms. The future of news shouldn’t be a choice between a soulless institution and a charismatic individual—it must be a marriage of the two. CS
Nicole Faith Montiel is a psychology student at the University of Antique. She describes herself as a musician and human rights advocate whose interests lie in navigating the human psyche, music, and social justice.
