Harsh Lessons from the Youtubers Who Helped Shape the 2022 U.S. Presidential Election: A Thread (🧵)

Unless you're living under a rock, you would know that former U.S. Donald J. Trump has returned to the White House.  One key factor was his appeal among young, male voters— a constituency which "masculine" youtubers captured and delivered to Trump. 

https://apnews.com/article/trump-young-men-voters-election-latinos-democrats-ff30e38698a41132cf90345fffabe579

In fact, exit surveys show that more than half of men under 30 supported Trump— a constituency which Biden won in 2020, and which reduced Vice-President Harris' margins in key swing states.  

https://www.npr.org/2024/11/07/g-s1-33331/unpacking-the-2024-youth-vote-heres-what-we-know-so-far

Specifically, Bloomberg recently published an analysis on how 9 content creators captured this audience and gave Trump and other far-right personalities a platform to reach them. Let's take a look at how they did it. 

https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2025-youtube-podcast-men-for-trump/

First, these 9 content creators did not explicitly bill themselves as political analysts. Their podcasts typically cover a broad range of topics sports, masculinity, internet culture, gambling and pranks, which made them palatable to an apolitical audience. 

How large were their audiences? Joe Rogan reportedly has around 14.5 million listeners on Spotify. Logan Paul, around 23 million; Lex Fridman, around 4.5 million. These figures can vary depending on which website you consult. 

Interestingly, these 9 youtubers also did not feature explicitly political guests on their show until near the date of the actual elections. 

However, these nine Youtubers would occasionally sandwich political topics which would appeal to young male voters, and to the Trump demographic at large-- masculinity, traditional gender roles, criticisms of transgender identity, vaccine skepticism, immigration, inflation. 

These points appealed resonated with a young male demographic portrayed as "victims of a Democratic campaign to strip them of their power"- a feeling validated by studies such as Equimundo’s 2023 State of American Men. 

As a sidenote, America today has broadly been described as having a loneliness epidemic— and has been experiencing one since 2000, if you've read Putnam's "Bowling Alone". 

https://www.npr.org/2023/05/02/1173418268/loneliness-connection-mental-health-dementia-surgeon-general

Some philo/pol theory nerds might also connect this to the writings of Hannah Arendt on loneliness as the root of totalitarianism: 

https://www.vox.com/vox-conversations-podcast/23048597/vox-conversations-hannah-arendt-totalitarianism-the-philosophers

Those same nerds might also recall what Adorno wrote about fascist propaganda. It encourages lonely people to identify themselves purely with a charismatic leader-- against those who would threaten their unity. 

https://medium.com/@lucian.dioneda/notes-from-the-sidelines-30-adornos-theory-of-authoritarian-propaganda-81ea0b9714fd

Which melds well with the next point. In the United States, these 9 youtubers fostered an "us vs them" mentality among their audience. This quote from a co-host of the Impaulsive podcast illustrates the point well. 

Thus, when these podcasters finally invited Trump to appear, he spoke to an audience seething with resentment. Rogan's interview drew 50 million views; Altogether, the nine episodes with Trump as a guest drew more than 100 million views.

In many ways, Trump's return on the back of these youtubers mirrors developments in our country. Duterte mobilized underlying fears, resentments, and the deeply authoritarian character of our values to vault (and maintain an iron grip) on the Presidency. 

https://medium.com/@lucian.dioneda/notes-from-the-sidelines-13-authoritarian-personality-types-inter-generational-value-change-and-85c1b012d38a

Meanwhile, the "Unity" theme was a symbiotic relationship-- capitalizing on a vilified and decimated opposition (and which has yet to recover 3 cycles later), and on an administration that had all the cards but couldn't create a winning hand. 

https://medium.com/@lucian.dioneda/notes-from-the-sidelines-16-unity-and-the-new-marcos-mythology-5d637998b28d

However, the difference between the US context and ours is our lack of polarizing talking points.  Partisanship in our country is still largely personality based (Marcos vs Duterte vs Risa/Leni), as opposed to the non-negotiable culture wars being fought in the US.


But this is why the growing influence of religious groups, as seen in the controversy over Comprehensive Sexual Education, and SOGIE before it, should be closely monitored.  

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/2026878/comprehensive-sex-education-not-compatible-with-ph-says-sereno

Where then, does this leave the rest of us? Clearly, steps need to be taken to reclaim democratic space. We need to avert the crisis of isolation- rebuild the communities once connected and united by NGOs in previous political eras.  

https://medium.com/@lucian.dioneda/what-makes-filipinos-protest-notes-from-the-sidelines-38-6394809a537b

Like the Trump nine, there has to be a wider effort to build and engage audiences beyond elections and campaigns- while subtly reading and tapping into issues that can galvanize resentment and mobilization. 

Actually, this may be why buying pre-existing FB groups has become a key tactic.  It may also partially explain the rise of the Tulfos. They handle issues of justice and accountability in their own way, while avoiding technical language and political sparring. 

Consequently, it goes beyond celebrity endorsements and "voter's education". Both are weapons from yesteryear's wars. It's all about getting ahead of the curve. 

Harsh Lessons from the Youtubers Who Helped Shape the 2022 U.S. Presidential Election

The Persistence (and Limits) of Celebrity Politics: Lito Lapid, Bong Revilla, and the 2025 Senate Midterm Elections (🧵)

For over a year now, I've been writing about the upcoming 2025 Senate midterm elections. The first of these was a thread on the reelection of the "Duterte Boys" (Go, dela Rosa, and Tolentino) as a litmus test of former President Duterte's political capital (separate from the VP)


https://twitter.com/lucindomino/status/1573570446599294976

The second thread was one on Sen. Pia Cayetano and the history and strength of the Cayetano brand:


https://twitter.com/lucindomino/status/1621502390263484419

Not to be lost in the shuffle are two "legacy" names: Lito Lapid and Bong Revilla, who were both first elected in the 2004 Senate elections. They both ran under the K4 slate of then-incumbent President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo:

With these two likely seeking re-election in 2025, it is an opportune time to dissect the persistence- and limits- of celebrities in Philippine elections.

Celebrities obviously have a massive advantage when seeking national office. But it does not always translate to an automatic win, as some would think.

Pre-martial law, movie star Rogelio dela Rosa was the first film actor to be elected to the Philippine Senate. He ran and won in 1957, and sought the Presidency in 1961 (he withdrew a few days before the election).

https://philippinesfreepress.wordpress.com/1961/11/10/the-%E2%80%9Cuntimely-withdrawal%E2%80%9D-of-roger-de-la-rosa/

Another TV/Radio star, the late Edgardo "Kuya Eddie" Ilarde, was elected to the Senate in the 1971 elections (just one year before Martial Law was declared). Prior to his Senate stint, he represented the 1st district of Rizal from 1965-1969.

https://legacy.senate.gov.ph/press_release/2020/0825_prib1.asp


In the '87 elections, former radio personality Orlando Mercado was elected to the Senate. Former Movie Star and San Juan City Mayor Erap Estrada was also elected to the Senate that year but placing only 14th/24. But 1992-2004 was the real gilded age of celebrity candidates.

By '92, Erap Estrada was elected Vice-President (and was, by default, an early frontrunner in '98). '92 also saw Tito Sotto and Bong Revilla Sr. the Top 2 spots in the Senate elections. Freddie Webb placed 12th among 24 elected Senators.

1998 was another watershed moment for celebrity candidates. On one hand, Erap was elected President. Sotto and Revilla won reelection. But new faces also emerged: celebrity lawyer Renato Cayetano, TV reporter Loren Legarda, and star athlete Robert Jaworski.


But starting in 2001, the celebrity path to a national seat was producing more and more mixed results. That election saw Noli de Castro, Ralph Recto, and Kiko Pangilinan elected to the Senate. But older names, like Dong Puno and Orly Mercado, didn't make it.

2004 was another watershed year: beloved movie star Fernando Poe Jr. had to be cheated to be defeated. The VP race saw the battle of the broadcasters, Legarda vs de Castro.

The 2004 race also saw second-generation celebrities leverage their names into Senate seats. Bong Revilla Jr. (who placed second), Jinggoy Estrada, and Pia Cayetano (daughter of Renato Cayetano). Lito Lapid also won in that election.

From then on it has been a mixed bag. 2007 was a (premature) death bell for the celebrity candidate. Ralph Recto lost his reelection bid. Cesar Montano and Richard Gomez also lost their bids for the Senate. Tito Sotto also lost his first Senate election. https://www.quezon.ph/2007/06/06/an-abnormal-return-to-normality-2/

Established names (Legarda, Lapid, Sotto, Poe) have been a continuous presence. But other names struggled. Erap lost in 2010. Jinggoy failed in his 2019 comeback bid. Revilla returned that year, but placed only 11th/12.

2022 saw yet another new chapter of celebrity politics. Two new-yet-old names in showbiz burst unto the scene: Padilla and Tulfo. The former is a staple of Pinoy-style action movies. The latter is part of the Tulfo family, which has been present in radio and TV for decades.

But even in these past two cycles (2019 and 2022), the celebrities have been adding new spins to their existing brands. Padilla, of course, had the Duterte factor on top of his muslim faith. Tulfo's streaming is an addition to their usual Radio/TV bluster. Revilla had budots.

Why was there a sudden burst in celebrity politicians, post-EDSA? Well, it was not a sudden burst. According to this paper, television sets had started to become more common in Filipino homes as early as the '70s.
https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/tak/44/4/44_KJ00004552202/_pdf

Post-EDSA saw the democratization of media (e.g. the return ABS-CBN) There was also a shift to Filipino in news reports. The 90's also saw the consolidation of free to air television as the popular medium of the Philippines. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1329878X20985960


Interestingly, the rise of TV ownership is also linked to remittances from OFWs, which helped fund purchases of television sets and other appliances of family members in the Philippines.

Celebrity politics also filled in a political void. The pre-martial law two-party system, and its system of ward leaders and command votes had basically collapsed.

This, as well as rapid growth in population and TV viewership and the consequent boom in advertising and celebrity fandom basically made political ads (and image-based marketing) the most cost-effective strategy http://www.randydavid.com/2004/02/the-making-of-the-masa-vote/

How central? In this 2013 (!) article, former Senator (and campaign veteran) Serge Osmena III recommends an 80/20 rule for funding: 80% for the air war (TV/Radio but mostly TV) and 20% for the ground war (postering, leaflets, staff).

https://news.abs-cbn.com/blogs/opinions/03/15/13/anatomy-campaign-part-ii

In this TV-centered environment, celebrity candidates have a massive advantage. Obviously, they have heightened visibility- and not only during election season.

For example, Tito Sotto has a captive audience on Eat Bulaga. Especially in 2016, during the Aldub craze (mabuhay si Alden! Mabuhay si Maine!)
https://www.pep.ph/news/58120/senator-tito-sotto-ranks-no-1-in-senatorial-poll-says-it39s-partly-because-of-aldub-phenomenon

And Lito Lapid basically had 2 years to put his name back in people's minds during his stint on Ang Probinsyano:

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/22/19/lito-lapid-ex-ang-probinsyano-star-is-proclaimed-senator?fbclid=IwAR39FicIrrHlMY3ruFUPdfKw6c2ktPgeKY6cjT2jprVWegwbAYui8PSnHaQ

But celebrities also have an advantage of having a built-in parasocial relationship with potential voters. Unlike other politicians who have to cultivate that relationship, celebrities already have a large number of fans.

https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=26a12d0c565fc9cfaf50201f3a14d37b3b3775f3

(On a related note, the rise of social media in Philippine elections may be fueling another boom in parasocial relationships with politicians)

https://twitter.com/lucindomino/status/1647222115945558017

Finally, the nature of television also gives an advantage to simple messaging over complex policy ideas:

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jenna-Atun/publication/308985901_Celebrity_Politics_Correlates_of_Voting_for_Celebrities_in_Philippine_Presidential_Elections/links/5db961524585151435d1f8a8/Celebrity-Politics-Correlates-of-Voting-for-Celebrities-in-Philippine-Presidential-Elections.pdf



In summary, in our TV-dominated political scene celebrity politicians have a competitive advantage in terms of visibility and parasocial relationships. But it is not always infallible. It will be interesting to see how Sen. Lapid and Revilla will fare in their reelection bids.