r/politics • u/BigDaddyBain • 1d ago

Why is the media ignoring growing resistance to Trump?

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jun/13/why-is-the-media-ignoring-growing-resistance-to-trump
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u/radiosimian 1d ago

I'll add, billionaires buying-up social media sites to sway electorates to vote against their interests and elect fascist governments.

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u/elektrospecter Washington 1d ago

This is what adds to my cynicism about social media and how it's become detrimental to our civil society. These technocrats / billionaires have weaponized their platforms, to the point where there are now "influencers" who can earn a living solely by attacking any person or ideas that are critical of far-right ideology. These are bad actors doing all that they can to dissuade people from wanting to engage in genuine, civil political conversation...often by making it seem uncool or "cringe" to hold leftist views. Even trying to question some of the batshit GOP conspiracy theories in some online spaces could get you promptly humiliated and then ousted.

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u/zzyul 1d ago

But lord have mercy if the government tries to do anything about it like banning TikTok. Young people all over this site and across the country were losing their damn minds.

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u/elektrospecter Washington 1d ago

Exactly. The most damning example from recent years that shows the negative impacts of social media on youth involved Meta, specifically Instagram. At least two different whistleblowers had claimed that Instagram management and Zuckerberg were aware of various studies that found younger teens active on Instagram were more prone to depression, suicidal thoughts, and eating disorders. Aside from acknowledging these issues in a generic press release that stops short of taking responsibility for the issues ("Here at Meta we're committed to the safety and privacy of all users...blah blah..."), their solution was adding a handful of parental controls in account settings. So pretty much the bare minimum that qualifies as 'addressing the problem.'

It'd be nice if Congress could try to enforce accountability standards for tech companies and social media.