Since the 2024 election, organizers have agonized over how the Trump campaign was able to so effectively wage an ideological war that won them the White House. Calls for a “Joe Rogan of the Left” elide the long-term investments the Right has made in developing a cultural, political, and economic hegemony in the United States, but that doesn’t mean the internet is a dead zone. There are important lessons to learn about ways in which the Democratic Party failed to engage with creators online–lessons that can guide our future efforts to meet people where they are.
The origins of the Democratic defeat and the broader rightward shift trace back as far as 1958, when Robert Welch Jr. founded the John Birch Society with industrialists like Harry Bradley, Fred Koch, and Robert Stoddard. Steeped in Cold War anti-communism, they aimed to dismantle the public sphere and reshape American consciousness through media, education, and the judiciary. Despite being marginalized by prominent conservatives at the time, over the next six decades their ideology evolved through organizations like the Heritage Foundation, the Federalist Society, Claremont Institute, and Hillsdale College, successfully pushing America to the right.
This transformation weakened public trust in government, eroded social safety nets, and facilitated a system where corporate interests flourished while wages stagnated and inequality deepened under both parties. Robert Welch Jr. also peddled a heavy dose of antisemitism and conspiracy theories, a thread that has persisted on the Right to the present day.
The mainstream Democrats’ embrace of neoliberal policies was part of this generational ideological shift, which left them vulnerable to accusations of hypocrisy. They took for granted a once-solid base of union workers, the working class, and minority voters, and failed to realize that these groups no longer saw themselves reflected in a party of the wealthy, big business, and tax cuts. Many of those voters stayed home, some of them even voted for Trump.
However, the Right’s dominance is about more than institutional control; it has benefited from massive cultural and digital mobilization to accomplish what it has today. Enter Gamergate. In 2014, a blog post by Eron Gjoni targeting ex-girlfriend and game developer Zoe Quinn spiraled into a mass harassment campaign alleging Quinn leveraged her romantic relationships to get ahead in the game industry. The movement, fueled by men in online forums, weaponized tactics like doxxing, swatting, and digital mobbing—strategies later deployed by Pizzagate, QAnon, and even the January 6th insurrection. Gamergate taught an entire generation of online warriors how to mobilize, priming them to embrace conspiracy theories, white supremacy, misogyny, incel culture, and far-right radicalization. Gamergate was also a Trojan Horse for Russian misinformation campaigns that followed in the 2016 and 2024 elections.
The right-wing media machine doesn’t just use creators; it finds them and empowers them, giving them platforms, resources, and legitimacy.
As the 2020 pandemic forced millions into isolation and into online spaces, they found communities rife with misinformation and conspiracies. Right-wing media, troll farms, and conspiracy networks thrived, feeding skepticism and distrust in institutions and government. Even– and maybe most especially–among the Silicon Valley elite and techno-futurists like Curtis Yarvin.
Four years later, the Democratic Party found itself trapped in a digital web it couldn’t escape.
Without the ideological center of gravity that exists on the Right–an ideological center that guides their practices and creates strategies to change the terrain in their favor–the Democratic Party found itself responding to popular public sentiments that were pre-influenced by right-wing media. This gives cover for the perpetually defensive stance of mainstream Democrats; their campaigns are unwilling to take risks in the face of manufactured digital and media backlash. This Rolling Stone article framed it best:
While Harris’ campaign agonized about whether to make time to appear on Joe Rogan — the biggest podcast in the world — Trump was working his way through an entire ecosystem of mini Rogans, sitting down with people whom Democratic campaign consultants would have never allowed in the same room as their candidate. (One Harris source defended that thinking, saying, “The reason why we don’t just throw them on the phone with someone in between campaign events is because we want to make sure that we are carefully curating our message.”)
Rather than looking to their base for cues about where the party should head, online and off, or investing in transparent practices to create new party leadership that can speak to changing landscapes, Democrats relied on strict party controls and “trickle-down” messaging. Hiding behind pollsters and reports, they allowed measures of general sentiment to guide their values and expected that their carefully curated framing would “trickle” down to their base through legacy media, talking heads, and punditry. The Democrats’ over-reliance on polls and consultants to set their values made them particularly vulnerable to the powerful American right-wing media apparatus.
This is about more than ineffective messaging: relying on this method of decision making robbed the campaign of crucial insights about where to invest their time, energy, and resources. With a base that is living and playing online, the creator ecosystem could have offered a window into who that base is, where they get their information, and what they’re thinking and feeling. And, if there is no ideological framework guiding their project, and if the only mandate to Democrats is to raise money to pay for the consultants to tell them what to think, it’s no wonder voters see them as a party without vision.
It didn’t have to be like this. Twelve years ago, SourceFed, a left-leaning YouTube news channel that was growing rapidly, became one of the first channels to broadcast the DNC and RNC conventions alongside traditional networks. It was a huge success, with SourceFed’s stream garnering tens of thousands more viewers than legacy outlets. The mainstream discourse about SourceFed’s coverage, however, was brutal: the LA Times quipped, “YouTube gives wacky anchorman Philip DeFranco greater exposure”.
In 2025, Philip DeFranco is now one of the best known news creators in the New Media ecosystem.
Despite being a potential inroad, there was no commentary from party leadership. No one was calling 2012 the year of the influencer, but tech executives and creators were taking note. The next decade would see a dramatic increase in political creators and the creation of a right-wing digital propaganda arm that the Democratic Party did not see coming because it wasn’t seen as “serious” media.
A well-oiled machine
The right-wing media machine doesn’t just use creators; it finds them and empowers them, giving them platforms, resources, and legitimacy. Wealthy investors saw promise in Charlie Kirk, the wunderkind behind Turning Point USA, and gave him millions despite his being an unknown quantity. Ben Shapiro’s peddling of right-wing talking points was rewarded with a prime placement as editor-in-chief at Breitbart News at the age of 28.
This is all to say that the Right’s digital dominance isn’t an accident—it’s the product of a well-oiled machine with multiple, mutually reinforcing entry points:
- Youth Recruitment: Organizations like Turning Point USA and PragerU infiltrate high schools and colleges, offering young conservatives opportunities, funding, and mentorship.
- Entertainment & Digital Culture: Platforms like Barstool Sports, the Nelk Boys, and Joe Rogan serve as cultural entry points, normalizing conservative talking points under the guise of irreverent humor.
- Legal & Institutional Power: Groups like the Federalist Society cultivate judges and lawyers, ensuring long-term ideological dominance in the courts.
- Narrative Control: From Fox News to right-wing podcasts, the media ecosystem is built to reinforce and repeat key messages, drowning out opposition.
Every component feeds into the next, ensuring that conservative ideology permeates culture, governance, and daily life. So much so that voters are now cheering as their self-interest is continuously undermined by the very billionaires taking away their ability to succeed in America.
It’s important to remember that the battle for political power isn’t just waged at the ballot box.
In 2022, Trump sat down with the Nelk Boys—a YouTube prank group with over 8.6 million subscribers. When Jimmy Kimmel mocked Trump’s decision to appear on their platform, he failed to grasp the significance: Trump wasn’t just doing an interview; he was aligning himself with a massive, engaged audience that felt ignored by legacy media. Right-wing figures understood that authenticity wins in the digital age. Meanwhile, Democrats agonized over whether to appear on Joe Rogan’s podcast, ceding critical ground to the right’s digital empire.
Rethinking the approach
If Democrats and progressives want to win, they must fundamentally rethink their approach to media, messaging, and their relationship to the American people. Here’s some of what needs to change:
- Respect Digital Talent: Stop treating digital strategists and creators as secondary players. Invest in their growth, pay them fairly, and bring them into senior decision-making spaces.
- Engage Authentically: Appearing on unconventional platforms isn’t a risk—it’s a necessity. Candidates and leaders must meet voters where they are, not where they wish them to be, and they need to be honest with them when they make these appearances.
- Build an Ecosystem: The Right has spent decades constructing a media and institutional machine. The Left needs to do the same—creating networks that cultivate young talent, empowering independent creators, and reinforcing a clear ideological center (one where the working class actually gets ahead).
- Play Offense, Not Defense: Instead of reacting to right-wing narratives, set the terms of the debate. Frame progressive policies in compelling, emotionally resonant ways that connect with everyday struggles and hammer them again and again across platforms. Actually fight for the policies we say will make people’s lives better; don’t just propose them in the halls of Congress and shrug when that isn’t enough. There are dozens of tools at our disposal. We need to use them.
- Invest Long-Term: The right-wing movement isn’t built on one election cycle—it’s built on generations of investment focused on ending public goods. Democrats must shift their focus from performative wins to structural shifts of power.
These changes are not impossible, and they can be scaled up and down depending on our needs. Some organizations are already implementing them successfully; those groups and coalitions that are doing this in isolation could use further investment.
As organizers, to avoid the pitfalls that afflicted the Democratic Party this cycle, it’s time to see beyond our engagement with our singular platforms and take advantage of those hungry algorithms to our benefit.
Do’s and don’ts
Here are some do’s and don’ts progressive and left organizations should be adopting to more fully integrate into the digital landscape and to create fertile ground for our issues to take the lead in digital campaigning:
Video reigns in digital spaces, but not all digital clips are the same
Do: Pull and edit clips that show tense moments at a community meeting or hearing, footage of a terrible politician saying terrible things, or viral moments that have already been shared, using your own organizational spin. Bonus Tip: Partner and build relationships with creators aligned with your mission to collaborate and share each other’s content. (P.S. Creating content is a profession. It’s difficult, and worth the investment; offer to pay when you have the funds!) More Perfect Union
Don’t: Pull direct-to-camera videos of volunteers, electeds, or impacted people unless you have vetted their ability to be dynamic on camera. Compelling stories need to be told by compelling storytellers. We are not all meant to be content creators and that’s ok!
Tap your volunteer networks for platforms and relationships you can leverage for digital exposure
Do: Partner with volunteers who want to grow their own creator platform and are interested in partnering with your organization because they believe in your mission. Pay creators to train your volunteers and help them launch their own platforms–and, by proxy, amplify the issues most important to your organization. The Bloc
Don’t: Invest in hundreds of volunteer faces to represent your organization day after day. Consistent digital presence creates a parasocial relationship with the creator and the brand; cycling through dozens of faces talking about different topics on a daily basis is disorienting. Find a few people with the most promise and invest in their talent. Not only will they be grateful for your support in building their platform, but you will also have a handful of trusted voices that you can work with over longer periods of time.
Legacy media is important–but digital success can become legacy media success
Do: Develop relationships with creators the same way you would with journalists. Creators have a vested interest in consistent content generation, and while you should always aim to pay them for services, those with platforms should be considered on par with your press network. Clips, posts, and content that go viral and are uplifted by creators can be leveraged into legacy media pitches and legacy media pitches can be leveraged into created content. HJ4A
Don’t: Treat your digital and legacy media content as isolated. Clips and content that feel important to share and build the progressive ecosystem have promise across the digital landscape–there is no reason to undermine your instincts about what people care to share. If you would share it, followers and content creators will likely share it as well.
Organizational accounts can act as collaborative partners
Do: Work with progressive organizations in your network to cross-share and uplift one another’s content. No one is an island in digital space. The Left has a clear ideological project that only works if we all succeed. When a moment happens that benefits us all to uplift, our digital strategists should work together to create a steady drumbeat that helps consolidate attention on issues that collectively impact us (even if it might not directly relate to a current campaign your organization is spearheading). Dear White Staffers
Don’t: Silo your accounts in a way that means the issues you care about are only ever being shared by you and your followers. Local organizational networks almost always benefit from collaboration. If the content you are making and sharing is only for your audience and never aimed at growth, your accounts–and your issues–will stagnate.
The Left must do more than just counter right-wing narratives—it must build its own. To do that, the Democratic Party–and left and progressive organizations–need to find centers of alignment and amplification. That means embracing digital culture, empowering new voices, engaging their base, and over time becoming a coalition that actually embraces the changes people want to see. The future belongs to those who shape the narrative, and right now, the left is playing by rules dictated by the right.
It’s time to change the game.