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By Ewan Palmer
News Reporter
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MeidasTouch, a progressive media network that is highly critical of President Donald Trump, has been named YouTube's most popular news and politics channel over the past three days, just ahead of Fox News.
Newsweek has contacted the MeidasTouch network as well as Fox News for comment via email outside of regular office hours.
Why It Matters
MeidasTouch is in frequent competition with Fox News for the top spot in Playboard's YouTube chart. The show's success comes as podcast charts have largely been dominated by shows with a conservative or pro-Trump voice, and the likes of Joe Rogan and Ben Shapiro have frequently appeared in the top 10.
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What to Know
MeidasTouch, founded by brothers Ben, Brett, and Jordy Meiselas, was ranked the most popular news and politics YouTube channel from Sunday to Tuesday, according to Playboard.
Playboard's daily YouTube charts are based on the combined number of views and "likes" a channel's videos have received over the previous three days.
On Sunday, MeidasTouch accumulated more than 9.6 million views and 543,000 likes on its channel. These figures increased to more than 11.6 million views and 672,000 likes on Monday.
The podcast topped the chart again on Tuesday, with 10.2 million views and 559,000 likes.
In comparison, Fox News was ranked second over the past three days. The network gained 8.9 million views and 246,000 likes on Sunday, followed by 8.5 million views and 197,000 likes on Monday.
Fox News attracted more YouTube views than MeidasTouch on Tuesday (11.1 million) but its videos had fewer likes (312,000).
On Tuesday, MeidasTouch uploaded multiple videos with titles such as "Fox News COLLAPSES ON AIR as Trump CRASHES ECONOMY" and "Trump holds DISASTER PRESSER with Musk as MARKETS CRASH."
Fox News' YouTube content that day included Trump's press conference with Tesla CEO Elon Musk at the White House, as well as various interview segments and clips from the network's programming.
MeidasTouch previously topped Playboard's most popular news and politics chart on March 4. It was ranked the number one channel for four consecutive days between February 23 and 26.
What People Are Saying
A Fox News spokesperson told Newsweek on Wednesday: "According to Emplifi, Fox News was number one amongst the news competitive set in the month of February with 368.4 million YouTube views and has been number one with YouTube views for four consecutive months."
MeidasTouch co-founder Brett Meiselas told Newsweek in February: *"*People are tired of the lies, the hate, and the corruption. They want truth, empathy, and real fighters who won't back down. We don't mince words. We don't bend the knee. I think that's why so many have gravitated to MeidasTouch, especially in these past few weeks.
"Trump's reelection made our mission more important than ever. While others cave, settle lawsuits, or soften coverage, we double down. We're clear-eyed, fearless, and won't be silenced—no matter the consequences."
What Happens Next
Meiselas said MeidasTouch's main goal is to "compete with and beat Fox in viewership every single day."
Update 03/12/2025, 9:55 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Fox News.
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