Cenk Uygur

PoliticsVideo & PodcastMedia Criticism

Founder and host of The Young Turks (TYT), one of the longest-running and most-watched progressive news programs on YouTube, launched in 2002 — years before YouTube even existed. Uygur built TYT into a multi-channel media network covering American politics, corporate power, economic inequality, and social justice from a progressive populist perspective. He briefly ran for Congress in California in 2020 and has been a consistent advocate for progressive policy, campaign finance reform, and an alternative to corporate media. TYT has published billions of views across its channels and helped pioneer the model of independent digital political journalism.

Known for

Founded The Young Turks in 2002, one of the earliest and most successful independent political news operations
TYT has accumulated billions of views on YouTube, making it one of the largest progressive news channels online
Ran as a Democratic congressional candidate in California's 25th district in 2020
Has been a consistent voice for campaign finance reform and structural critiques of corporate media