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

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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. 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. 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. 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". 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: 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.