Month: February 2025

When the first social media platforms were engineered almost three decades ago, their primary use was for communication. Almost three decades later, social media has grown so quickly and so vastly into an online world that is a ripe space for the spreading and debate of ideas. 

One such example is the short-form video platform TikTok. Released in September 2016, TikTok quickly skyrocketed in popularity, surpassing 2 billion mobile downloads online. It has been in the top three most popular apps worldwide for the last four years, demonstrating its scale, reach, and impact. 

Link: https://braincandy.digital/tiktok-hits-the-big-time/

TikTok was created by Chinese company ByteDance, in an attempt for Chinese media to “go global.” As TikTok rose to popularity, then President Donald Trump expressed vocal opposition to the app, voicing the opinion that the app was collecting data and spreading Chinese propaganda for the benefit of the Chinese government. 

So, what did Trump do? Well, he took a few actions in his first presidential term. Firstly, he put into place an executive order which bans any dealings with the company that created TikTok. He also signed an executive order that attempted to close down TikTok unless it was acquired by another company. 

TikTok did not, in fact, end up getting banned then and there. It would be almost four years later, in March 2024, that a bill would be put forward in Congress to ban TikTok. President Biden signed the bill. After the case went to the Supreme Court, the fate of TikTok was sealed.

On the evening of January 18, 2025, TikTok went dark in the United States.

 

Link: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Screenshot_of_TikTok_error_when_accessed_in_US.png/330px-Screenshot_of_TikTok_error_when_accessed_in_US.png

Yet, only 14 hours later, TikTok was back up, and it has remained this way since. 

Link: https://i.tribune.com.pk/media/images/Tiktok-welcome-back-message1737354219-1/Tiktok-welcome-back-message1737354219-1.jpg

Now, wait a minute. You may be asking yourself: why is TikTok thanking President Trump for its survival? Wasn’t he vehemently attempting to kill the app, just a few years ago? 

Simply put, Trump appears to have completely changed his views on TikTok, having recently issued an executive order to put a hold on the TikTok ban. But why?

There are, of course, a lot of possible reasons. But the most likely one is also the simplest one: young people greatly value TikTok, and he would be viewed far more favorably by a critical voting bloc if he “saved it.” 

All in all, the TikTok controversy has not occurred in isolation. Rather, it shows us that the spread of information and ideas is now occurring through a completely new medium – and politicians, to be successful, must adapt themselves to those new mediums. 

As we wade through a world newly dominated by social media, understanding how valuable social media is to young adults is imperative to political success. However morally questionable his flip-flopping on the issue is, one thing is for sure: Trump understands this better than most.

If you would have told me a few years ago that this entire blog dedicated to politics would have its first two entries be about then tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, I would have called you crazy. 

 

Yet, here we are. 

 

Donald Trump’s first few weeks in office have sent shockwaves around the world. From brazen executive orders to outlandish foreign policy moves, it’s been one of the most controversial starts to a new presidential administration in history. However, perhaps nothing has been more controversial than the methods and actions of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency. 

The Department of Government Efficiency, nicknamed DOGE, was first announced just a week after Trump was elected president. It was to be led by Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, and tech-billionaire and richest man in the world, Elon Musk. Its stated purpose is to “modernize Federal technology and software to maximize government efficiency and productivity”.

 

This is an intentionally vague statement, leaving the methods of DOGE primarily up to its head – Elon Musk. The best way to describe how Mr. Musk views DOGE is as a sort of government waste removal system. In Musk’s view, the government has become too large and too bureaucratic, causing a need for a more efficient system of government to ensure our tax dollars are going to the right places. 

 

It sounds great in theory, right? But what has DOGE actually done so far – and why has it been met with protests and lawsuits?

 

DOGE has, first and foremost, focused on cutting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) institutions. It has fired federal employees, cut contracts, and ended leases through the guise of stopping DEI. 

 

It has also fought against the US Agency for International Development, an agency primarily responsible for providing various forms of aid to foreign countries and their development. USAIDs website was taken offline, and all federal employees were recently notified that they would be put on leave. 

 

These were certainly controversial actions on their own, but what is perhaps even more controversial are the methods Musk and his team are using to achieve their goals. 

 

In order to more effectively “rid the government of waste,” Musk recently acquired access to the Federal Treasury System, presumably gaining access to sensitive personal information of federal employees, and maybe even average citizens. His team of DOGE staffers has also recently been leaked to the press, and not without great controversy. DOGE’s staff is primarily made up of young, college-aged young adults, some of whom have very questionable backgrounds and social media histories. 

Lawsuits, some of which coming from states, have already been made against DOGE. People have questioned its ethics, practices, and goals. However, maybe what is most concerning is the seemingly unchecked power the richest man in the world has over the US government. One thing’s for sure – the world will be watching, some with glee, some with horror, and some with something in between – as DOGE makes its next move. 

 

Image Links: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/11/trump-says-elon-musk-will-lead-doge-a-new-department-of-government-efficiency/

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