President Donald Trump prides himself on being the voice and savior of working-class American people. He ran a campaign centered around helping these citizens with one of his core policies emphasizing his goal to “end inflation and make America affordable again.” Well then, isn’t it ironic that he was flanked by tech billionaires at his inauguration who hold more power than anyone else in the country? How can he possibly stand for the working class of the United States when the oligarchy of America stands behind him on stage?
His posse not only looks intimidating as they are clad in designer suits and Rolexes, but more importantly, each individual holds a seat at a major corporation, or often even several. To further the concern, many wealthy men and women hold power at leading social media platforms that citizens use daily to communicate, gather information and connect.
But what does this mean, and why is it important? Take TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew. As we all saw, TikTok was in the midst of a ban under the Biden administration that was upheld by the Supreme Court on Jan. 17, 2025 due to national security concerns since TikTok is owned by ByteDance, its Chinese parent company. The following day on Jan. 18, all access to the app’s content was paused for United States users, with the app being removed from the most prominent app stores like Apple and Google.
On Jan. 19, 2025, access to TikTok for Americans was restored, but with a very clear message. As citizens logged back on to the app, a notification flashed across the screen for all 170 million users across the country: “As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.” There was no need to read between the lines, one of the most popular social media companies openly thanked the President for his work to bring TikTok back to Americans, even though he was the one who introduced the restrictions in the first place.
Chew also posted a video on his and TikTok’s page, profusely thanking President Trump, and later appeared behind him at his inauguration. TikTok is in the hands of the president, which leads to the question of how influential the new Trump era will be in the media in the United States.
Meta CEOMark Zuckerberg, X CEO Elon Musk and Chew all attended the inauguration. Let’s also include the CEOs of Amazon, Apple, Google and OpenAI. All of these individuals openly pledged their support for President Trump at the inauguration, which is worrisome because of the influence the president will have on those companies. It may be extreme to jump to conclusions about the possible propaganda and censorship that this new era of presidency will entail, and yet it is still worthwhile to have these concerns.
We live in a country founded on free speech, one where free thinking, criticism and expression are all emphasized and have been for centuries. So, it is concerning when we have media moguls all on President Trump’s side, with the possibility of algorithms on their platforms also bending toward him.
The fear of right-wing influenced media washing over the United States has become a reality and is, without a doubt, a massive threat to our democracy. If these tech bros control our feeds, we must realize how our intake of information can be skewed toward an extremist perspective. Media can both influence and be influenced, which leads us to question where the limit of free speech begins.
Regulations for social media in the United States are minimal. An attempt to create necessary restrictions for preventing skewed algorithmic tendencies like boosted political ads and misinformation should rise to the top of importance on lawmakers’ desks. The problem is that we live in an era where these concerns are being stifled in Trump’s America, where the majority of lawmakers and tech CEOs back him.
We must be aware of the oligarchical nature of these blossoming friendships between President Trump and tech billionaires that have paved their way from Silicon Valley to the White House. A new political landscape is upon us, no longer on the horizon but now surrounding us. This time, this Trump era is partnered with media moguls, who are not in the shadows but are directly by his side.