There was a time when human connection required no Wi-Fi signal. We gathered in backyards and on porches, around bonfires and dinner tables, laughing, debating, and storytelling. We shared not only our thoughts, but our presence. Our bonds were built through eye contact and conversation, not algorithms and notifications. Today, however, many of us connect through screens, scrolling on our iPhones, Androids, and TikTok feeds, where the closeness of community has been replaced by the illusion of connection.
Yet even as social media distances us from one another in spirit, it has become the beating heart of modern politics, a tool of persuasion so powerful that ignoring it would be political malpractice.
In 2016, U.S. intelligence agencies confirmed what many feared: a foreign government, Russia, exploited the social media ecosystem to manipulate American voters and sow distrust. That interference was not a glitch in democracy, but rather it was a revelation of how fragile truth had become in the digital age.
Donald Trump and the Republican Party understood this terrain better than their opponents. They learned to weaponize podcasts, memes, and viral videos to craft a sense of authenticity, even when their messages distorted facts. Platforms like Joe Rogan’s became megaphones for grievance and identity politics, reaching millions who once tuned out traditional news. I do not agree with the messaging or its moral compass, but I can acknowledge the strategy of meeting voters where they were, online, unfiltered, and disillusioned.
Recent research and reporting indicate that Republican politicians and right-wing influencers often outperform their Democratic counterparts on major platforms in both reach and engagement. An analysis during the 2024 cycle found that Republican House candidates were generating up to seven times more shares per post than Democrats on average. Conservative figures have historically dominated Facebook’s most-shared political posts, and right-leaning narratives often go viral more rapidly due to emotionally charged messaging and tightly aligned ecosystem strategies. Studies also point to differences in platform use, with many Democrats focusing on TikTok and younger audiences, while Republicans have built powerful networks on Facebook and X.
One of the clearest examples of this digital imbalance came during the 2020 and 2022 election cycles, when right-wing media personalities and political figures dominated Facebook’s “Top 10” most-engaged political posts almost daily. Names like Ben Shapiro, Dan Bongino, and Fox News consistently outranked Democratic pages, including those affiliated with major campaigns and party organizations. Their content strategy relied on short, emotionally charged clips and provocative framing that was designed to travel fast across feeds. Democrats, despite outspending Republicans on digital ads in some races, struggled to generate the same organic engagement. Campaign messages often appeared in the form of long, static press releases or clipped debate footage, which failed to resonate in the algorithm-driven environment.
This gap is not inevitable. Democrats have access to the same digital platforms, but their strategy often falls short. Three key weaknesses stand out: message discipline, influencer integration, and platform optimization. Republican campaigns excel at boiling their message down to emotionally resonant soundbites that spread quickly online, while Democratic messaging often remains fragmented, overly policy-heavy, and less memorable. Republicans have also cultivated a robust influencer ecosystem, where podcasters, streamers, and micro-creators amplify narratives to millions. Democrats, by contrast, have tended to treat influencers as an afterthought rather than as a core part of their communication strategy.
Moving forward, Democrats must invest in influencer networks that align with their values, develop coordinated narrative strategies, and learn to tell emotionally compelling stories that can move through algorithms as effectively as their opponents’ messages. Leaders like Gavin Newsom have shown glimpses of this approach by engaging directly with opposing media spaces and translating complex policy into crisp, relatable language. If scaled across the party, this kind of strategy could close the digital engagement gap.
The stakes are global. Just last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a direct appeal to social media influencers, young Americans with millions of followers, to amplify Israel’s message. This was no accident. Political leaders worldwide understand that today’s electorate does not watch press conferences. It scrolls feeds. Millennials and Gen Z, now emerging as the dominant voting blocs, get their news through the language of social media, which is short, emotional, visual, and personal.
According to a 2024 report by the Pew Research Center, 43 percent of U.S. adults under 30 now say they regularly get news on TikTok, up from just 9 percent in 2020. At the same time, about one in five U.S. adults, or 21 percent, say they regularly get news from social media influencers; among those ages 18 to 29, that share rises to 37 percent. And broadly, adults under 30 are more likely than any other age group to turn to social media for news and far less likely to rely on print, radio, or television.
Meanwhile, right-wing influencers have flooded platforms with rhetoric that normalizes hate, from Holocaust revisionism to coded antisemitism, often disguised as edgy “truth-telling.” Facts are no longer sacred; outrage is the currency.
Social media, however, is not inherently corrosive. It is a mirror of our collective will. For every post spreading disinformation, there are others documenting injustice. Videos exposing ICE agents unlawfully detaining American citizens have shown the world the fragility of our freedoms. Citizen journalism, from cell phones on sidewalks, has become a lifeline for truth in a democracy increasingly gaslit by power.
And just as citizen reporters document truth from the ground up, independent media must carry that same torch from the top down. In an era where misinformation can dominate algorithms and corporate interests often shape mainstream narratives, independent journalism stands as democracy’s immune system, which emphasizes the organized effort to verify, contextualize, and hold power to account. It connects the raw immediacy of viral moments with the rigor of investigation, ensuring that what trends is also what is true. A democracy cannot endure without those willing to report facts that challenge comfort, profit, or political power.
Every citizen now bears some responsibility for truth-telling. In an age where lies travel faster than fact-checks, it is our duty to confront falsehoods not with anger or cynicism, but with hard data, verified sources, and unwavering commitment to reality itself.
There are signs of hope. Leaders like California Governor Gavin Newsom are breaking through partisan bubbles by engaging directly with ideological opponents. Appearing on conservative podcasts or reaching across the aisle is communication, not capitulation. Likewise, civil discourse is not weakness. Rather, it is the foundation of democracy.
If Democrats want to win hearts and minds, not just elections, they must treat social media not as a liability but as a civic tool. That means engaging rather than retreating, countering lies with evidence and empathy and calling out conspiracies with both clarity and moral courage. It also means amplifying stories of working people exploited by an economy designed to enrich the few, while explaining in plain language how policies can lift everyone.
Social media has already proven it can destroy trust; but, it can also rebuild it. The same platforms that spread misinformation can be used to restore truth, compassion, and unity.
Our democracy has survived wars, depressions, and demagogues, but it has never faced an enemy as invisible and omnipresent as the algorithm. The question now is whether we allow social media to erode our democracy or use it to revive it.
Because the battle for America’s soul will not be fought in the halls of Congress or the pages of the newspaper. It will be fought on the screens in our hands, in the comments we write, the stories we share, and the courage we summon to speak truth in an age of distortion.
The medium is the message, and right now, the message must be that democracy still matters.
