45th and 47th President of the United States, whose direct use of social media changed presidential communication
Truth Social, Republican Party
People
Key figures in digital political discourse
214 people documented
Type to filter results
Grouped by primary role, most-connected first. Inclusion reflects a documented role in these events, not an endorsement.
Elected & Government Officials 44
44th President of the United States, whose White House built the We the People petition platform and moved the weekly presidential address online
Democratic Party, Obama Foundation, Higher Ground Productions
46th U.S. President, who signed the law forcing a divestiture or ban of TikTok and withdrew from the 2024 race in July 2024
Democratic Party, White House, U.S. Senate
Congresswoman known for social media engagement across multiple digital platforms
Democratic Party, U.S. House of Representatives
43rd President of the United States, whose White House ran the first sustained online question-and-answer programme in American politics
Republican Party, Bush Administration, White House
Senator known for digital organizing and small-dollar fundraising during his presidential campaigns
U.S. Senate, Independent (caucuses with Democratic Party)
42nd President; signed the Telecommunications Act of 1996, which created Section 230, and whose impeachment prompted the founding petition of MoveOn
Democratic Party, Clinton Foundation, Clinton Global Initiative
Texas congressman whose 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns were among the earliest to use digital grassroots activism and online fundraising.
Republican Party, Libertarian Movement, Mises Institute
U.S. Senator and the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, who took 45.65% of the popular vote against Barack Obama
Republican Party, U.S. Senate, U.S. Navy
Oregon senator who co-authored Section 230 and placed Senate holds on the COICA and PROTECT IP bills
U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, Senate Finance Committee +2 more
Director of the Office of Management and Budget, confirmed in 2020 and again in 2025, who wrote the Project 2025 chapter on the Executive Office of the President
Office of Management and Budget, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Center for Renewing America +1 more
Secretary of State and the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, who won the popular vote and lost the election
Democratic Party, Clinton Foundation, State Department
Vermont senator from 1975 to 2023 who chaired the Judiciary Committee and sponsored the PROTECT IP Act
U.S. Senate, Senate Judiciary Committee, Democratic Party
Governor of Alaska from 2006 to 2009 and 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, later a Fox News contributor and an early user of Facebook for direct political messaging
Republican Party, State of Alaska, Fox News +1 more
46th Vice President of the United States, whose administration's post-9/11 policies became a subject of early online political argument
Republican Party, Bush Administration, Halliburton
President of Egypt who stepped down on 11 February 2011 after eighteen days of protest
National Democratic Party (Egypt), Egyptian Armed Forces
49th Vice President of the United States and the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee
Democratic Party, U.S. Senate, Office of the Vice President
U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, 1993-2011; lead Senate cosponsor of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act and the only senator to vote against the USA PATRIOT Act in 2001
Democratic Party, U.S. Senate, Wisconsin State Senate +1 more
Senator who uses digital platforms to communicate policy positions and advocate for financial regulation
U.S. Senate, Democratic Party
Minnesota State Senator shot at his home on 14 June 2025 in a targeted attack on state legislators
Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, Minnesota State Senate
Minnesota state representative from 2005 and Speaker of the Minnesota House from 2019 to 2025, killed at her home in June 2025
Minnesota House of Representatives, Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party
President of Iraq whose alleged weapons programs and terrorist ties were the stated basis of the 2002 congressional authorization for war
U.S. senator from Texas, host of the Verdict podcast and named party in the 2022 Supreme Court campaign-finance case
U.S. Senate, Republican Party
British prime minister 1997–2007 whose partnership with George W. Bush made him the principal foreign figure in American argument over the Iraq war
Labour Party
Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission from 2025 and author of the FCC chapter of Project 2025
Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Republican Party
U.S. Representative from California who introduced, with Ron Wyden, the bill that became Section 230; later the 28th chairman of the SEC
U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
U.S. representative for New York's 21st District and chair of House Republican Leadership; nominated as UN ambassador in 2024 and withdrawn in March 2025
U.S. House of Representatives, House Republican Conference
Governor of New Mexico and the Libertarian Party's presidential nominee in 2012 and 2016, when he took 3.28% of the national vote
Republican Party, Libertarian Party, Office of the Governor of New Mexico
U.S. Senator and Governor of Virginia whose 2006 re-election campaign is the standard early case of viral video affecting an American election
Republican Party, U.S. Senate, Virginia Governor's Office
Governor of Vermont and 2004 presidential candidate whose campaign is the reference case for internet fundraising and Meetup-based organizing
Democratic Party, Democracy for America, Democratic National Committee
U.S. representative for Minnesota's 5th District, sworn in January 2019 as one of the first two Muslim-American women elected to Congress
U.S. House of Representatives, Democratic Party, The Squad
U.S. Senator for Virginia elected in 2006 by 9,329 votes, in the race that made viral video a fixture of American campaigning
Democratic Party, U.S. Senate, U.S. Department of the Navy
U.S. Representative from Texas, 1987-2019, who introduced the Stop Online Piracy Act in October 2011 and postponed it in January 2012
Republican Party, U.S. House of Representatives
Represented Georgia's 14th congressional district from 2021 until resigning in January 2026; removed from her committees by House vote in 2021
U.S. House of Representatives, Republican Party
Former congressman known for social media presence and digital-first political strategy
U.S. House of Representatives, Republican Party
New York State Assemblymember for Staten Island's 62nd District, elected in 2018 after twelve years in the NYPD.
New York State Assembly, Republican Party, Conservative Party of New York State
U.S. Senator from Kentucky who uses digital platforms and congressional advocacy to promote limited-government and constitutional-constraint positions.
U.S. Senate, Tea Party Caucus, Republican Party
Mayor of New York City and former State Assemblymember known for short-form video and volunteer-driven digital campaigning
City of New York, New York State Assembly (former), Democratic Party +1 more
Governor of California since 2019 who has signed state laws on social media and AI chatbots for minors and hosts a political podcast
Democratic Party, Office of the Governor of California
Texas state representative, first elected in 2018, and a former public school teacher
Texas House of Representatives, Texas Democratic Party
Former U.S. Surgeon General known for opioid response and COVID-19 pandemic public health messaging
U.S. Public Health Service, Indiana State Department of Health, Purdue University
Congresswoman known for prolific social media engagement and direct digital communication during political events
Republican Party, U.S. House of Representatives
Governor of Minnesota since 2019, previously a six-term U.S. representative, and the 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee
Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, U.S. House of Representatives, Minnesota Army National Guard
General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party since 2012 and President of China since 2013
Judges, Lawyers & Law Enforcement 6
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court since 1991 whose opinions address political spending, platform regulation, and digital surveillance
Supreme Court of the United States
Retired Hawaii attorney whose Facebook event after the 2016 election seeded the 2017 Women's March
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court from 1988 to 2018 who wrote the majority opinion in Citizens United v. FEC
Supreme Court of the United States
Former Minneapolis police officer convicted in state court of the murder of George Floyd and in federal court of civil rights violations
Minneapolis Police Department
Chief Justice of the United States, who joined the majority and wrote separately in Citizens United v. FEC
Supreme Court of the United States
Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court since 2006 and author of the Court's opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization
Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, U.S. Department of Justice
Journalists & Editors 18
Gen-Z journalist and video host whose political field reporting and commentary features prominently in the MeidasTouch network's content
MeidasTouch Network, Mockler HQ, Mockler Media
Journalist who founded The Free Press and became editor-in-chief of CBS News when Paramount acquired the company in October 2025
The Free Press, The New York Times, CBS News
Writer and speaker, former Breitbart News technology editor, permanently suspended from Twitter in 2016 and from Facebook and Instagram in 2019
Technology journalist and media entrepreneur who helped shape the political tone of Silicon Valley coverage and tech accountability debates.
Recode, Vox Media, The New York Times +1 more
Documentary filmmaker and journalist whose reporting on the 2013 Snowden disclosures shared the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service and whose film Citizenfour won the 2015 Academy Award for Best Documentary
The Intercept, Field of Vision, Freedom of the Press Foundation
Digital journalist and strategist who co-founded More Perfect Union after leading engagement and breaking news coverage at HuffPost.
Journalist and policy analyst who co-founded Vox and hosts The Ezra Klein Show podcast at The New York Times.
Former Clinton administration official turned ABC News anchor and political interviewer
Journalist who co-founded The Intercept in 2013, resigned from it in 2020 over an editorial dispute, and moved to independent subscription publishing
The Intercept, Substack, System Update
CNBC on-air editor at the Chicago futures exchanges whose 19 February 2009 broadcast called for a 'Chicago Tea Party'
CNBC
Journalist and media host best known as a co-host and producer of The Young Turks.
The Young Turks, TYT Network
Technology editor and product strategist who co-founded 404 Media after leading special projects at Vice's Motherboard.
404 Media, Vice Media, Motherboard
Technology journalist and editor-in-chief of 404 Media known for investigations into online infrastructure, labor, and surveillance.
404 Media, Vice Media, Motherboard
Investigative journalist specializing in cybersecurity, hacking, and surveillance who co-founded 404 Media.
404 Media, Vice Media, Motherboard
Journalist covering online culture, labor, and sexuality who co-founded 404 Media after reporting for Vice's Motherboard.
404 Media, Vice Media, Motherboard
Broadcast journalist and co-host of CBS Mornings known for high-profile political interviews
CBS News, Oprah Winfrey Network
Political columnist and commentator whose essays on political correctness and online debate culture have drawn widespread discussion.
The Atlantic, New York Magazine, The New Republic
Journalist and author whose media columns and Trump-era books scrutinized White House communications and news industry dynamics
New York Magazine, USA Today, The Hollywood Reporter +1 more
Commentators, Hosts & Writers 29
Television host who presented Tucker Carlson Tonight on Fox News from 2016 to April 2023 and now publishes The Tucker Carlson Show
Broadcaster and founder of Infowars, removed from several major platforms in August 2018 and held liable in the Sandy Hook defamation litigation
Infowars, The Alex Jones Show, Prison Planet
Stand-up comedian and podcaster, a host of Cum Town and of Stavvy's World, who publicly endorsed Zohran Mamdani in the 2025 New York City mayoral primary
Cum Town, Stavvy's World
Internet radio host convicted in 2020 of extortionate interstate communications; a frequently cited case in arguments about deplatforming
Radical Agenda
Host of The Rubin Report, a long-form interview programme distributed as video and podcast
The Rubin Report, The Young Turks, BlazeTV
Comedian and founding member of Million Dollar Extreme, whose Adult Swim series ran one season in 2016 and whose name recurs in mass-shooting misidentification hoaxes
Million Dollar Extreme
Historian, author and host of the daily podcast The Tom Woods Show, and a senior fellow of the Mises Institute
Mises Institute, The Tom Woods Show, Contra Krugman
Media critic behind Feminist Frequency, whose crowdfunded Tropes vs. Women in Video Games series and the harassment campaign around it became a reference case in debates over online abuse
Feminist Frequency, Games and Online Harassment Hotline
Political commentator who co-founded The Daily Wire in 2015 and hosts The Ben Shapiro Show
Late-night host whose ABC show was suspended in September 2025 after remarks about the killing of Charlie Kirk, and reinstated six days later
Comedian, writer and antiques dealer; founding member of Million Dollar Extreme and co-creator of Adult Swim's World Peace
Million Dollar Extreme, Chamonix House
Writer and organizer who popularized the term alt-right, led the National Policy Institute, and was a defendant in the Charlottesville civil trial
National Policy Institute, Radix Journal, AltRight.com
Pseudonymous blogger and self-published author whose Rational Male series popularized red pill vocabulary in the manosphere
Writer and editor; US editor of UnHerd, co-founder and former editor of Compact, and author of Tyranny, Inc.
UnHerd, Compact, New York Post +2 more
Screenwriter and producer; co-founder of PragerU and executive producer of The Dennis Prager Show
PragerU, The Dennis Prager Show, American Film Institute
Founder and host of The Young Turks; candidate for Congress in 2020 and for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2024
The Young Turks, TYT Network, Justice Democrats
Comedian and one of the three creators of Million Dollar Extreme Presents: World Peace, cancelled by Adult Swim in December 2016
Million Dollar Extreme
Radio host on the Salem Radio Network and co-founder of PragerU, which produces short-form political and cultural video
PragerU, The Dennis Prager Show, Salem Radio Network
Television host and comedian who pioneered satirical political commentary on The Daily Show
The Daily Show, Comedy Central, Apple TV+ +1 more
Television host who satirized cable punditry on The Colbert Report and ran a registered super PAC as an on-air demonstration of campaign finance law
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS), The Colbert Report (Comedy Central), Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Inc.
Political commentator who built a large social media following through commentary on politics and culture
The Daily Wire, PragerU, Turning Point USA
Pseudonymous blogger, writing as Roissy and then Heartiste, whose blog is named in this site's timeline entries on the manosphere and the Red Pill
Essayist and commentator whose writing on generational politics and family policy circulates widely among outlets covering traditional values and family policy debates
The American Conservative, Washington Examiner, First Things
Television host and political commentator who bridged traditional and digital media platforms
MSNBC, The Rachel Maddow Show
South African comedian who hosted The Daily Show from 2015-2022, bringing international perspective to American political satire
The Daily Show, Comedy Central, Netflix +1 more
Radio and television host who left cable news to build Blaze Media, an independent subscription network
Fox News, Blaze Media, Mercury Radio Arts +1 more
Self-published author who founded the site Return of Kings and in 2019 withdrew eleven of his own books from sale, citing religious conviction
Return of Kings
Political strategist and television commentator known for commentary on immigration policy and party politics
CNN, The View, Republican Party
Religious broadcaster who runs the nonprofit BOND and a long-running YouTube channel
BOND (Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny)
Podcasters & Online Creators 22
Comedian whose podcast has run since December 2009 and reached 2,547 numbered episodes, distributed through an open feed
Spotify, The Joe Rogan Experience
American comedian and podcast host, a co-host of Cum Town from 2016 and the host of its successor, The Adam Friedland Show.
Cum Town, The Adam Friedland Show
Political commentator and Twitch streamer known for live political commentary and news analysis.
The Young Turks, Twitch, HasanAbi
Stand-up comedian who created and hosted the Cum Town podcast and co-hosted The Adam Friedland Show until January 2025
Cum Town, The Adam Friedland Show
Co-founder and co-host of the Chapo Trap House podcast, and a book editor credited on the show's book and comics projects
Chapo Trap House
British YouTuber who produces theatrical long-form video essays on philosophy and politics as Philosophy Tube, and who works as a playwright and actor.
Philosophy Tube, Patreon
Stand-up comedian and host of the political podcast Part of the Problem on the GaS Digital Network
Part of the Problem, Legion of Skanks, GaS Digital Network +1 more
Streamer and political debater, real name Steven Bonnell II, who moved from StarCraft II streaming to live political debate
Co-founder and co-host of the Chapo Trap House podcast and sole author of a 2024 history of the Spanish Civil War
Chapo Trap House
Creator of the YouTube channel ContraPoints, whose long-form video essays won a Streamy Award in 2020 and a Peabody Award for 2022
ContraPoints, Patreon
Livestreamer who founded the America First Political Action Conference and is president of the America First Foundation; subpoenaed by the January 6 Select Committee in 2022
America First Foundation, Groyper Movement
Author and neuroscientist who hosts the Making Sense podcast and created the Waking Up meditation app
Making Sense Podcast, Waking Up, Intellectual Dark Web
Political livestreamer and debate-focused content creator who built a large audience through political commentary and online debates.
YouTube creator who, with Hila Klein, launched the H3 Podcast in 2017 and has hosted political interview and commentary series on it
H3 Podcast, YouTube, Teddy Fresh
American YouTube video creator whose 2017 livestreamed debate on immigration led a game studio to remove his voice work
JonTronShow, YouTube, Game Grumps +1 more
Canadian host of the Freedomain podcast, running since 2005, whose YouTube channel was terminated by the platform in June 2020
YouTube commentator on religion and co-host of the Drunken Peasants and Deep Fat Fried podcasts
Co-host of Chapo Trap House, a subscription-funded political comedy podcast
Chapo Trap House
British YouTube creator whose long-form video essays are treated in the scholarly literature as one of the defining channels of BreadTube
British YouTuber and podcaster, sole director of the company behind Lotuseaters.com, and a 2019 UKIP European Parliament candidate
UKIP, Lotus Eater Media Limited
Research chemist who posts science and skepticism videos on YouTube as Thunderf00t, and whose 2012 blogging tenure at Freethought Blogs ended in his removal
Co-creator of the h3h3Productions YouTube channel and co-host of the H3 Podcast
h3h3Productions, Teddy Fresh
Activists & Organizers 20
Founder of Turning Point USA, a campus organization he built into a national operation, killed at a university event in September 2025
Turning Point USA, Turning Point Action, The Charlie Kirk Show
Organizer and writer who created #BlackLivesMatter with Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi in 2013, and who founded the Black Futures Lab
Black Lives Matter, Black Futures Lab, National Domestic Workers Alliance
President and chief executive of The Gathering for Justice, and a national co-chair of the 2017 Women's March
Women's March, The Gathering for Justice, Justice League NYC
Arizona man who entered the Senate chamber on January 6, 2021, pleaded guilty to obstructing an official proceeding, and was pardoned in 2025
Brooklyn community organizer, former director of the Arab American Association of New York, and a national co-chair of the 2017 Women's March on Washington
Arab American Association of New York, MPower Change, Women's March +1 more
Organizer, artist and author who created the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag in 2013 and led the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation until May 2021
Black Lives Matter, Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, Dignity and Power Now
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student recognized as one of the organizers of the gun-control campaign that became March For Our Lives
Never Again MSD, March for Our Lives
Organizer and writer who co-founded #BlackLivesMatter in 2013 and led the Black Alliance for Just Immigration
Black Lives Matter, Black Alliance for Just Immigration
Organizer who led the National Action Network, co-chaired the 2017 Women's March, and co-founded Until Freedom
National Action Network, Women's March, Until Freedom
Egyptian computer engineer and former Google regional marketing head who anonymously created the Facebook page that helped trigger Egypt's January 2011 protests, and who later became a critic of engagement-optimized social media
Google, Parlio, Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy
Marjory Stoneman Douglas survivor whose 2018 'We call BS' speech and March for Our Lives silence drew national attention
March for Our Lives
Computer programmer and digital rights activist who became associated with Reddit's early development and led campaigns against SOPA/PIPA legislation
Reddit, Creative Commons, Demand Progress +1 more
Co-founder of Turning Point USA with Charlie Kirk, described by the organization as its first believer and senior adviser
Parkland survivor turned organizer; a vice chair of the Democratic National Committee from February to June 2025, and founder of the super PAC Leaders We Deserve
March for Our Lives, Never Again MSD, Leaders We Deserve +1 more
Swedish climate activist whose digital-first organizing spurred a global youth movement with significant U.S. resonance and political discourse impact.
Fridays for Future, School Strike for Climate
Activist and author who co-originated the 2011 Adbusters call for Occupy Wall Street and wrote the 2010 essay attacking 'clicktivism'
Adbusters, Activist Graduate School
Co-founder of the Sunrise Movement and its executive director from 2018 until September 2023
Sunrise Movement, Sunrise Movement Education Fund
Co-founder of the Sunrise Movement, the youth climate organization that began operating in 2017
Organizer of the August 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville and a defendant in the civil action brought over it
Unity and Security for America
Writer and community organizer who examines care work, family policy, and Catholic civic life across books, essays, and discussion projects
Other Feminisms, Plough
Strategists, Campaigns & Policy 14
President of the Heritage Foundation since 2021, who wrote the foreword to the Project 2025 policy volume Mandate for Leadership
The Heritage Foundation, Heritage Action, Texas Public Policy Foundation +1 more
Former chair of the New York State Young Republicans who lost a New York State Assembly staff job after POLITICO published a Telegram chat he created in 2025
New York State Young Republicans, Office of New York State Assemblymember Michael Reilly
Political strategist and media executive who managed Bernie Sanders' 2020 presidential campaign and founded More Perfect Union.
More Perfect Union Action, Bernie Sanders 2020, American Civil Liberties Union
Lawyer who directed the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 and co-edited its Mandate for Leadership volume
The Heritage Foundation, U.S. Office of Personnel Management, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development +1 more
Political donor, director of the Mercer Family Foundation, and, through a holding company, a member of Parler LLC
Mercer Family Foundation, Emerdata Limited, Parler
Digital strategist; digital director of Trump's 2016 campaign, manager of the 2020 campaign, and chief strategy officer of Salem Media Group from January 2025
Trump 2016 Campaign, Trump 2020 Campaign, Giles-Parscale +2 more
Republican political strategist who ran Swift Boat Veterans for Truth in 2004 and co-managed Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign
Donald J. Trump for President 2024, Make America Great Again Inc., Republican National Committee
Former general counsel of the New York State Young Republicans who left a New York court system job after his messages appeared in a leaked 2025 Telegram chat
New York State Young Republicans, New York State Unified Court System
University of Virginia student and Jim Webb campaign volunteer whose August 2006 camcorder footage of George Allen became a national news story
Jim Webb 2006 Senate campaign, University of Virginia
Political consultant and lobbyist convicted in 2019 on seven counts arising from the Russia investigation, whose sentence was commuted and who was later pardoned
Black, Manafort, Stone and Kelly
Florida political strategist who ran Donald Trump's 2024 campaign and became the first woman to serve as White House chief of staff
Donald J. Trump for President 2024, White House
Campaign manager of Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, which built a large-scale digital organizing and small-dollar fundraising operation
Obama for America, Democratic Party
Communications strategist and longtime Trump adviser focused on messaging and media bookings.
Donald J. Trump for President 2016, Donald J. Trump for President 2024, Gettr
Campaign manager of Howard Dean's 2004 presidential campaign and author of a first-hand account of it
Democratic Party, Dean for America, Trippi & Associates
Academics & Researchers 12
Harvard Law School professor of constitutional law whose 2020 essay 'Beyond Originalism' proposed an alternative to originalism he calls common-good constitutionalism
Harvard Law School
Canadian psychologist, author and podcaster who testified against Bill C-16 in 2017 and built a large online audience
University of Toronto, Daily Wire, Peterson Academy
Economist and historian of the Austrian school, Academic Vice-President of the Mises Institute, whose name recurs in congressional argument about monetary policy
Columbia University, Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute, University of Nevada, Las Vegas +2 more
Anthropologist and author of Debt: The First 5,000 Years, and a participant in the meeting that formed Occupy Wall Street's first general assembly
Goldsmiths, University of London, Yale University, Occupy Wall Street
Austrian-born economist whose critique of socialist economic calculation is quoted by name in US congressional debate over money and the Federal Reserve
University of Vienna, Vienna Chamber of Commerce, Graduate Institute of International Studies (Geneva) +1 more
Marketing professor and tech analyst who translates corporate strategy trends into accessible commentary on economic power and public policy.
OpenAI research lead who co-heads development of the Sora text-to-video diffusion model
OpenAI
Computer scientist and algorithmic fairness advocate who founded the Algorithmic Justice League
Algorithmic Justice League, MIT Media Lab
Political theorist at the University of Notre Dame whose 2018 book Why Liberalism Failed and 2023 book Regime Change argue that liberalism's own premises produced its decline
University of Notre Dame, Princeton University, Georgetown University
AI researcher credited as a research lead on OpenAI's Sora text-to-video model
Meta Superintelligence Labs, Google DeepMind, OpenAI
Mathematician and managing director of Thiel Capital who coined the term 'Intellectual Dark Web'
Thiel Capital, The Portal Podcast
Princeton sociologist and New York Times contributing Opinion writer who studies networked protest and platform technology
Princeton University, The New York Times, The Atlantic
Founders & Executives 33
Chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX who acquired Twitter in 2022 and funded a super PAC with about $250 million in the 2024 cycle
Tesla, SpaceX, X Corp +2 more
Founder, chairman and chief executive of Meta, the company that operates Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp
Media executive and political strategist who led Breitbart News, served as White House chief strategist, and hosts the War Room podcast
Breitbart News, War Room podcast, Trump Campaign 2016
Former chief executive of Cambridge Analytica, who settled FTC deception charges in 2019 and was disqualified as a UK company director in 2020
Cambridge Analytica, SCL Elections Limited
President and chief executive of UFC, elected to Meta's board of directors in January 2025
UFC, TKO Group Holdings, Meta Platforms
Twitter co-founder who served as its chief executive from 2007 to 2008 and again from 2015 to 2021
Twitter, Square, Block
Founder of the men's rights website A Voice for Men and organizer of the first International Conference on Men's Issues in 2014
A Voice for Men, Red Pill Solutions, LLC
Facebook co-founder who ran online organizing for Obama's 2008 campaign and later argued publicly for breaking Facebook up
Facebook, Economic Security Project
Film producer and tech entrepreneur who acquired Paramount Global through Skydance Media in 2025
Skydance Media, Paramount Global, Oracle (family connection)
Twitter's chief technology officer and then chief executive, who led the company through Elon Musk's 2022 acquisition
Twitter, Parallel Web Systems
Media executive who built a global media company spanning newspapers, television, and digital platforms
News Corporation, Fox News, The Wall Street Journal +1 more
Co-founder of the Adbusters Media Foundation, whose magazine published the July 2011 blog post calling for an occupation of Wall Street
Adbusters Media Foundation
Oracle founder and tech billionaire whose wealth enabled son David Ellison's media acquisitions
Oracle Corporation, Tesla (board member, 2018-2022), Skydance Media (investor)
Minnesota information-technology program manager, husband of House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman; both were killed at their home in June 2025.
nVent Electric, IBM, Gray & Creech Inc.
Founder of the Drudge Report, an early news aggregation site that shaped online political media and breaking news distribution.
Drudge Report, Premiere Radio Networks
Pseudonym of the founder and administrator of the Iron March forum, active from 2011 until the site went offline in November 2017
Founder and administrator of 4chan from 2003 until 2015, who later joined Google
Co-founder and executive producer at Jubilee Media who develops human-centered social experiment formats for digital civic storytelling.
Jubilee Media, Jubilee Project
Media executive overseeing CBS and Paramount's television operations during major ownership transition
Paramount Global, CBS, NBC Universal (formerly) +1 more
Founder and CEO of Jubilee Media who develops dialogue-focused video formats encouraging civic empathy across political divides.
Co-founder of Wikipedia, which is operated by the Wikimedia Foundation — a nonprofit now running on roughly $180 million a year
Co-founder of MoveOn, whose 1998 'Censure and Move On' petition was one of the first mass online political campaigns
MoveOn.org, MomsRising
Co-founder of PayPal and Palantir, a Facebook director from 2005 to 2022, and a large donor to federal political committees
PayPal, Palantir Technologies, Founders Fund +3 more
Entrepreneur who acquired The Babylon Bee and led its expansion into multimedia, membership, and legal advocacy.
Reddit co-founder who returned as chief executive in 2015 and holds voting control of the company after its 2024 IPO
Reddit, Inc., Hipmunk
Television news executive serving as President of CBS News during transition to Paramount/Skydance ownership
CBS News, Paramount Global, ABC News (formerly)
Chief executive and board chair of Turning Point USA, elected unanimously by its board in September 2025
Software developer and type designer who founded the imageboard 8chan in 2013 and in 2019 publicly called for it to be shut down
8chan
Co-founder of the social platform Parler
Co-founder and chief executive of Parler until the board removed him in January 2021, weeks after the platform lost its hosting
Co-founder and chief operating officer of Roca News, scaling audience growth, partnerships, and revenue initiatives for the Gen Z-focused outlet.
Software entrepreneur who co-founded MoveOn.org with Joan Blades in 1998 and later signed its federal PAC filings
MoveOn.org, MoveOn.org Political Action
Independent game developer, author of Crash Override, and the first target of the 2014 Gamergate harassment campaign
Other Documented Roles 16
Former NSA contractor whose 2013 disclosures revealed the Section 215 bulk telephone records program and PRISM, and prompted an official review that recommended ending the Section 215 program
NSA, Booz Allen Hamilton, Freedom of the Press Foundation
Rapper who reclaimed the slang term 'based', which later spread into online political vocabulary
The Pack
Pleaded guilty to the June 2025 shootings of Minnesota legislators Melissa Hortman and John Hoffman and their spouses; sentenced to life in federal prison
Governor's Workforce Development Board (Minnesota)
Louisville emergency medical worker killed by police executing a search warrant in March 2020; her case produced a city ordinance, a state law, and a federal civil rights conviction
Rally attendee killed on 13 July 2024 during the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania
Eighteen-year-old killed by a Ferguson, Missouri police officer in 2014; the protests that followed drove two federal investigations and a Twitter conversation of tens of millions of posts
Convicted in September 2025 of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump at a West Palm Beach golf club in September 2024, and sentenced in February 2026 to life imprisonment
Charged in September 2025 with the aggravated murder of Charlie Kirk; bound over for trial in September 2026 and pleaded not guilty
Georgia man killed in February 2020; the case drew national attention after video of the killing circulated, and led directly to a change in Georgia's citizen's-arrest law, with a separate hate crimes law signed around the same time
Man who fired a rifle inside a Washington, D.C. restaurant in December 2016 after encountering the 'Pizzagate' conspiracy theory online
Man killed by a Minneapolis police officer on 25 May 2020; the case produced a state murder conviction, two federal civil rights convictions, and worldwide protests
Paralegal killed when a car was driven into counter-protesters at the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville
Iowa pollster who ran the Des Moines Register's Iowa Poll from 1987 to 2024 and was sued by Donald Trump over its final 2024 survey
Selzer & Company, The Des Moines Register
Founder and leader of al-Qaeda; the September 11 attacks he directed set the terms of two decades of American political argument
al-Qaeda
Gunman who fired on Donald Trump at a Butler, Pennsylvania rally on 13 July 2024 and was shot and killed at the scene
Perpetrator of the May 2014 Isla Vista attack, in which six people were killed and fourteen wounded