The government should not be this active on social media. If you haven’t been following the government’s use of social media, it’s important to tune in now.
Let’s begin with Trump. We all know President Trump’s X (Twitter) presence has been prominent (and problematic) for years. Take, for example, when Trump posted a video featuring an AI-generated video of the Gaza Strip transformed into a luxury resort. The video included him dancing in a nightclub, Elon Musk throwing money on a beach, and a giant golden statue in his likeness. He captioned it, “Trump Gaza is finally here!” Then there was his Tweet stating that: “Sleepy Joe Biden is THE WORST PRESIDENT IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES.” Or his tweet calling the New York Times, the Washington Post, ABC, and CBS News “THE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE.” Have you ever heard a government official speak like that? No, you haven’t, because most government officials don’t write in all caps or strictly speak in hyperboles. It’s immature and inappropriate.
Moving on to a more concerning issue, in my opinion: The White House Instagram account. Some recent activity from this Instagram account includes “Roses are red, violets are blue, come here illegally and we’ll deport you,” an AI generated image of Trump in a crown with the caption “LONG LIVE THE KING,” and an ASMR deportation video. This is real content being posted by official U.S. government representatives, contributing to political polarization and the spread ofpropaganda.
Additionally, imagery of kings and cult-like followings highlight a bigger problem: many Americans are stuck in a one-sided parasocial relationship with their president, and it’s not healthy. First, it turns politics into a loyalty contest. People are willingly putting on rose-tinted glasses and ignoring facts to preserve their pristine idols. Second, this blind loyalty leads people to be overly susceptible to manipulation and misinformation. Parasocial loyalty can override critical thinking. People are chanting “LONG LIVE THE KING,” completely ignoring the authoritarian sentiment behind it. The image of Elon Musk doing the Nazi salute has become a well-used profile picture, and whether Musk’s intention was negative or not, the people using that image are proudly labeling themselves as ignorant bigots who are just blindly following these men.
Honestly, I don’t care about your political beliefs. However, if you view President Trump as a messiah for the American people, I respectfully believe that you’re dumb.
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