Having thrown their support to Donald Trump during this election cycle, MAGA podcasters and other content creators from the Trump-adjacent ecosystem are preparing to step up to help prop up Trump’s second administration.
That support can be seen as analogous to state-run media: They’ll be propagandists who act as an extension of the Trump administration’s communications efforts. And it looks like they’re primed to get more access to their MAGA “daddy” than ever before.
In recent weeks, pro-Trump podcasters Joe Rogan and Adin Ross, who both endorsed Trump’s 2024 presidential bid, have claimed they’ve had conversations with Team Trump about interviews with the president-elect next year. And these claims come as Donald Trump Jr. has suggested that the White House welcome more MAGA podcasters into the briefing room.
During an appearance with far-right podcaster Michael Knowles last week, Trump Jr. claimed he and the president-elect have discussed potentially replacing some traditional media outlets with MAGA-friendly influencers. This idea has, understandably, worried some members of the press.
There’s plenty of reason for the broader public to be concerned, as well. Over the past year, I’ve covered Trump’s use of right-wing podcasters and other influencers to boost his public image. Even if one assumes the podcasters that Team Trump wants to platform intend to act as neutral, apolitical arbiters of fact who want to serve the public (which I don’t), a recent U.N. study found a majority of influencers lack basic fact-checking. It’s hard to argue that this change is likely to produce anything but a flood of posts and podcasts echoing pro-Trump talking points. It seems MAGA world wants its own ecosystem of like-minded influencers, not unlike what Russian President Vladimir Putin has created for himself. Or the propaganda network Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán advised Republicans to develop.
Team Trump’s pivot to influencers is one more reason for Americans to improve their information diet by tuning in to organizations that specialize in identifying misinformation and manipulative propaganda. All signs suggest we should expect a deluge after Trump returns to office.
Ja’han Jones is an MS NOW opinion blogger. He previously wrote The ReidOut Blog.