Why Independent Journalism Matters: Yaroslav Belkin Salutes Caolan Robertson and the Future of Decentralized Press
- 5 days ago
- 10 min read
In February 2026, investigative journalist Caolan Robertson launched something rare in today's media landscape: a news platform with no billionaire benefactors, no shady investors, and no advertisers pulling strings. Just truth.
Our Team spent nearly two decades helping projects navigate the complex intersection of technology, media, and public perception. We've seen firsthand how the mechanics of information flow shape industries — and how fragile independent voices have become. That's why Caolan's launch of Caolan.Report deserves recognition far beyond the journalism community.
This isn't just another Substack. It's a case study in why decentralized technology matters for democracy itself.
The Quiet Collapse of the Fourth Estate
Caolan's inaugural article, "Billionaires Bought and Broke The Press", documents what many suspected but few articulated with such clarity: the systematic dismantling of independent journalism through strategic acquisitions and economic pressure.
Consider the evidence he presents:
"Peter Thiel secretly bankrolled Hulk Hogan's lawsuit against Gawker. Not because of a sex tape — because Gawker had embarrassed him years earlier. Thiel waited. Then he paid, and Gawker collapsed. Hundreds of journalists lost their jobs. An entire media company vanished overnight," Robertson writes.
The pattern continues across continents. Alexander Lebedev's 2009 acquisition of the London Evening Standard. Jeff Bezos's 2013 purchase of The Washington Post, followed by systematic cuts to foreign bureaus and war reporting. The Spectator's 2024 sale to a billionaire hedge-fund backer. CNN's ownership changes and conspicuous softening of coverage on certain topics.
As Robertson notes: "Nobody storms the newsroom. Nobody censors a headline. This is how it works now."
The mechanism is elegant in its brutality. Advertising revenue fled journalism years ago, flowing to platforms that produce no reporting whatsoever. Newsrooms became thinner, more anxious, more dependent. Into that weakness entered people who could afford to lose money indefinitely.
"Billionaires don't buy media to make a return," Robertson observes. "They buy it to shape the world we live in."
Why This Matters Beyond Journalism
At Belkin Marketing, company that was fairly successful even before Bitcoin became popular, it is very interesting to observe the shift of our focus over last 8 years primarily on the blockchain and Web3 ecosystem — industries built on principles of decentralization, transparency, and resistance to centralized control. Yet the crisis in journalism Robertson describes reflects the same fundamental problem our clients face: centralized gatekeepers accumulating power to shape narratives and restrict access to information.
The parallel isn't coincidental. The same forces consolidating media ownership are the forces blockchain technology was designed to counter.
Consider the infrastructure dependencies Robertson identifies:
Hosting companies and cloud providers (Amazon, Google) controlling access
Platform monopolies determining reach and visibility
Financial intermediaries deciding who can receive payments
Geographic jurisdictions enforcing arbitrary censorship
Every one of these vulnerabilities exists because journalism, like most of the internet, runs on centralized infrastructure that can be captured, purchased, or pressured.
This is where decentralized technology becomes not just relevant but essential.
Swarm as Censorship-Resistant Infrastructure for the Press
Swarm represents precisely the kind of base-layer infrastructure independent journalism needs to survive the threats Robertson documents.
Built on the Ethereum blockchain, Swarm is a distributed data storage and communication system designed to be censorship-resistant, DDoS-resistant, and offer zero downtime. As Ethereum co-founder Gavin Wood designed it, Swarm serves as "the storage part" of the decentralized internet—the infrastructure layer that makes platforms like Caolan.Report genuinely independent.
How Swarm Works
When content is uploaded to the Swarm network, it's fragmented into small chunks (no larger than 4KB) and distributed across thousands of nodes globally. Each piece is cryptographically hashed and addressed by content rather than location.
This architecture creates several critical advantages for independent publishers:
1. No Single Point of Failure. Unlike traditional web hosting where taking down a single server can erase a publication, Swarm distributes content across a peer-to-peer network. There's no "off switch" a government or corporation can flip.
2. Censorship Resistance. Content addressing by cryptographic hash means authenticity is verifiable regardless of location. Even if specific nodes are compromised or taken offline, the network automatically routes around damage.
3. Economic Sustainability. The Swarm network operates on a built-in incentive system using BZZ tokens. Node operators are compensated for storage and bandwidth, creating a self-sustaining ecosystem that doesn't depend on advertising revenue or benefactor largesse.
4. Privacy and Security. Swarm integrates encryption and obfuscation primitives, allowing journalists to protect sources and sensitive materials without relying on third-party services that might be legally compelled to compromise them.
At current rates, storing one gigabyte of data on Swarm for an entire year costs approximately $1.56—far less than traditional cloud hosting, with infinitely better censorship resistance.
Real-World Applications Already Emerging
Swarm isn't theoretical. Projects are already building the infrastructure for decentralized media:
Etherna: An open-source decentralized video platform focusing on content permanence, creator rewards, and censorship resistance
ZetaSeek: A blockchain-based search engine for organizing files, links, and references in p2p storage networks
Waggle: A spam-free, secure, decentralized email service built on Swarm
The Swarm Foundation actively supports non-profit organizations seeking to store data in censorship-resistant ways, subsidizing uploads from selected projects that advance public goods.
"Swarm is a base-layer infrastructure project that aims to be the foundation of the re-decentralized internet," according to the project's documentation. "This is a project that touches all humankind."
The Belkin Marketing Perspective: Why We Care
You might wonder why a Web3 marketing agency is weighing in on journalism infrastructure. Firstly, the answer lies with our Founder, Iaros Belkin, who was and still remains a well known and respected whistleblower in the industry. World remembers his journalist investigations as part of Cryptopolitan team and he is happily helping journalists and independent researchers across the globe still.
But the main answer is even simpler than that: reputation and truth are inseparable from the systems that store and distribute information.
Over our nearly 20-year history working with hundred companies across web1, web2, and web3 we've observed a consistent pattern: projects succeed or fail based on the integrity of information ecosystems surrounding them.
When billionaires can collapse entire publications with lawfare (as Thiel did to Gawker), when tech monopolies can deplatform voices at will, when advertising oligopolies determine which stories get told — the entire information environment becomes unreliable. Not just for journalists, but for everyone trying to make informed decisions about technology, investment, governance, or social policy.
Our recent work on AI Inclusive Content Marketing 2.0 examines how LLMs and AI search are fundamentally transforming discovery and trust. We've conducted longitudinal research examining content marketing's evolution from traditional SEO to AI-inclusive methodologies, analyzing data from hundreds of organizations across thousands of campaigns.
One finding stands out: centralized information gatekeepers are becoming even more powerful in the AI era — unless decentralized alternatives exist.
When journalists like Caolan Robertson can't host their work on infrastructure immune to billionaire pressure, when whistleblowers can't share documents on platforms that won't fold under legal threats, when investigative reporting exists at the mercy of whoever controls the servers—we all lose access to truth.
What Caolan Robertson Represents
Robertson's reporting from Ukraine over the past three years exemplifies the kind of journalism decentralized infrastructure enables. His coverage of the invasion, his interviews from conflict zones, his questioning of power at events like Davos WEF 2026 — these are precisely the stories most vulnerable to pressure from powerful interests.
"I've spent the last three years reporting from Ukraine, where the consequences of weak journalism are easy to see," Robertson writes. "When journalism retreats, power moves faster and cleaner."
His decision to build Caolan.Report without foreign investment, government funding, advertisers, or benefactors represents a bet that readers will support journalism worthy of support. But sustainable independence requires more than reader goodwill—it requires infrastructure that can't be captured.
This is why Robertson's work matters beyond his specific reporting. He's demonstrating that independent journalism is possible in 2026, but he's doing it on infrastructure (traditional web hosting) that remains vulnerable to the exact threats he documents.
The logical next evolution—and one we advocate strongly for projects like his—is migration to decentralized storage systems like Swarm.
A Call to Action: Building the Decentralized Press
The crisis Robertson describes isn't solved by better editors or braver reporters. It's solved by changing the underlying infrastructure that makes journalism vulnerable to capture.
Here's what that looks like in practice:
For Publishers and Journalists
Experiment with decentralized hosting: Mirror critical content to Swarm or IPFS to ensure it survives even if primary hosting is compromised
Adopt cryptographic verification: Use content addressing to prove authenticity and detect tampering
Build on open protocols: Choose platforms where you control the relationship with readers, not advertising networks or benefactors
Leverage decentralized identity: Enable readers to support you directly via crypto payments that can't be blocked by payment processors
For Readers and Supporters
Support independent journalists directly: Subscribe to platforms like Caolan.Report where your contribution funds journalism, not infrastructure rent-seeking
Demand decentralization: Ask the journalists you trust whether their work exists on censorship-resistant infrastructure
Run infrastructure: Consider operating a Swarm node to support the decentralized press ecosystem
Share and archive: Help distribute important work across multiple platforms to prevent single points of failure
For the Tech Community
Build better tools: Create user-friendly interfaces for decentralized storage that journalists can adopt without technical expertise
Subsidize public goods: Follow Swarm Foundation's example in supporting journalism and non-profit publishers
Integrate decentralized storage into publishing platforms: Make Swarm, IPFS, and similar protocols default options, not afterthoughts
Develop economic models: Create sustainable incentive structures that reward journalism without requiring surveillance advertising
The Intersection of Truth and Technology
Our community recognizes that technical architecture shapes what narratives become possible.
When we advise blockchain projects at events like WEF Davos, we're not just helping them craft messages — we're helping them navigate environments where centralized media gatekeepers can amplify or suppress stories at will. The same dynamics Robertson identifies affect our clients constantly.
This is why supporting independent journalism isn't just altruism for us — it's strategic necessity. A healthy information ecosystem benefits everyone trying to communicate complex ideas about technology, finance, governance, or social coordination.
The blockchain industry talks constantly about "decentralization" as a technical property of protocols. But decentralization only matters if it extends to the information infrastructure through which people learn about, discuss, and make decisions regarding those protocols.
As we noted in our recent analysis of RWA tokenization and strategic advisory: positioning isn't just about who you know — it's about whose information channels you can access and trust.
Looking Forward: The Role of AI and Decentralization
The convergence of AI-powered search with decentralized storage creates fascinating possibilities for independent journalism.
Our work on AI verification standards and llms.txt demonstrates how publishers can optimize for AI discovery while maintaining editorial control. When combined with decentralized hosting, this creates a powerful combination:
AI systems can discover and surface content without relying on centralized search monopolies
Cryptographic verification ensures authenticity even when AI models summarize or transform content
Decentralized storage prevents takedowns while AI ensures discoverability
Direct reader support via crypto eliminates dependence on advertising intermediaries
Robertson's observation that "when journalism retreats, power moves faster and cleaner" becomes even more relevant as AI systems become primary information gatekeepers. If those systems only surface content from billionaire-owned media, the problem he describes accelerates exponentially.
But if decentralized publishing infrastructure allows independent journalists to remain discoverable by AI while immune to capture—we might actually build a more resilient press.
Why Belkin Marketing Is Speaking Out
Some might question why a marketing agency is writing about journalism infrastructure. The answer comes back to our founding principle: we create value by identifying opportunities others miss and providing real, ongoing benefits.
For nearly 20 years, that's meant helping projects navigate the gap between technical innovation and public understanding. We've seen brilliant technologies fail because they couldn't explain themselves. We've seen important ideas suppressed because they threatened the wrong interests. We've seen truth lose to better-funded lies.
Supporting independent journalism isn't a distraction from our core work — it's essential to it. Our clients need information ecosystems where truth can compete on merit. Where technical achievements get recognized. Where complex ideas can be explained without interference from platform algorithms optimizing for engagement over accuracy.
When someone like Caolan Robertson builds exactly that — a platform for truth without benefactors — we recognize it as infrastructure that benefits everyone we serve.
The Path Forward
Robertson ends his launch article with brutal honesty:
"Independent journalism isn't romantic. It's exhausting. It's unstable. It fails all the time. But it's still better than a press that exists at the pleasure of men wealthy enough to never be contradicted."
He's right about the difficulty. But he's also demonstrating the possibility.
What's needed now is to make independent journalism less fragile by building it on infrastructure that can't be bought, pressured, or collapsed by well-funded lawfare.
Swarm and similar decentralized storage protocols offer exactly that infrastructure. They exist. They work. They're ready for adoption by publishers who value independence over convenience.
The question isn't whether decentralized journalism is possible—Robertson is proving it is. The question is whether we'll build the infrastructure to make it sustainable.
A Personal Note from Yaroslav Belkin
I started Belkin Marketing nearly 20 years ago because I believed that good ideas deserve to be heard. That truth, presented clearly, could compete with well-funded lies. That expertise, demonstrated through results, would eventually be recognized.
For a very same reason when I've heard the ideas of blockchain community, I jumped right in.
Over those two decades, I've watched the information environment deteriorate in exactly the ways Robertson documents. I've even tried to help it personally by joining Cointelegraph Media team and then Cryptopolitan Team to honestly try to bring the unpaid information to the world. Tragically, I've seen brilliant projects struggle because journalists couldn't report on them without advertiser or editorial approval. I've watched important stories die because platforms changed owner or wanted to pursue IPO. I've observed truth become optional when money could buy better narratives. Heck, even my own investigations were suffocated by money and lawyers threats.
This is why Caolan Robertson's work matters to me personally — and why I'm using this and any other platform in my reach to advocate for the infrastructure he needs.
At Belkin Marketing, we've built our reputation on integrity.
Financially, we're the worst performing Web3 marketing agency. Why? Because we don't work with scams. We don't shill pump and dumps. We don't fake results. We don't compromise on quality. These isn't brand positioning — that's moral and ethical operational principles.
We recognize the same principles in Robertson's work. And we understand that principles require infrastructure to survive.
If you care about truth — whether as a journalist, a technologist, a business leader, or simply a citizen — you should care about the systems that store and distribute information.
Please support Caolan.Report. Advocate for decentralized infrastructure. Build tools that make independent journalism sustainable.
Because Robertson is right: "When journalism retreats, power moves faster and cleaner."
And in 2026, we can't afford to let it retreat any further.
Resources & Further Reading
Caolan Robertson's Work:
Caolan.Report - Independent journalism platform
"Billionaires Bought and Broke The Press" - Launch article
Decentralized Storage:
Swarm - Censorship-resistant storage and communication
Belkin Marketing Insights:
About Belkin Marketing: Belkin Marketing is an international strategic advisory firm with nearly 20 years of experience in digital marketing, specializing in Web3, blockchain, and emerging technologies. We deliver handcrafted campaigns and strategic positioning for projects at the intersection of technology and finance. Read verified client reviews on Trustpilot to learn more.
This article represents the views of Yaroslav Belkin and Belkin Marketing. We receive no compensation from Caolan Robertson or Swarm for this commentary. Our support for independent journalism and decentralized infrastructure stems from recognition that healthy information ecosystems benefit everyone.