The Great Creator Reset

The TikTok ban isn't just a platform reconfiguration, it will reshape the political leaning of the creator economy and permanently alter whose voices get heard online.

When TikTok shuts down tomorrow, millions of creators are set to lose their platforms instantly. The ban represents the most significant and widespread deplatforming of creators in American internet history. It far surpasses Vine's closure in 2017 in both scale and impact, and stands to permanently reshape the ideological tilt of the online creator landscape.

Since 2020, TikTok has served as a major hub for progressive speech and activism. The ban will deplatform thousands of progressive content creators and skew online discourse toward conservative ideologies. It will consolidate media influence within right leaning platforms like Meta and X. Over time, I believe this reconfiguration will permanently alter the political landscape of the creator economy.

When Vine ceased operations, social media was still in its formative years. Though the app formally shut down in 2017, it quietly shuttered months earlier in the fall of 2016, and creators had begun a mass exodus a full year before that, when it became clear that the app was in a death spiral. Platforms like YouTube and Instagram were still establishing their footholds, and the concept of the "creator economy" was years away from existence. Vine's shutdown displaced creators, but the relatively small scale of the platform meant that the ripple effects were contained.

TikTok, however, is arguably the most culturally and politically relevant social media platform today. Not only is it a huge economic engine (TikTok contributed $24.2 billion to the GDP in 2023 and supports at least 224,000 American jobs), the app democratized content creation by disrupting the follower-based model of social media, allowing creators from a wider range of backgrounds to amass significant followings quickly. TikTok let "average" people enter the content creator industry without them having to invest an enormous amount of time or resources into building a platform.

Because of this low barrier to entry and the community that TikTok fostered, it became a fertile ground for progressive speech and activism. The early days of the pandemic provided unprecedented access to a captive audience, which allowed a generation of content creators to build their platforms around issues like LGBTQ rights, racial justice, climate activism, and other progressive causes.

While the majority of news content creators across the social media landscape are conservative men, a recent study found that TikTok is the only platform where left-leaning news influencers outnumber right-leaning ones. TikTok also has more than double the concentration of news content creators who identify as LGBTQ+ or advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, and 73% of teens who identify as Democrats or lean left use TikTok, compared to 52% of teens who identify as Republican, according to Pew Research.

Pew Research

“Because [TikTok] is one of the few platforms that isn’t completely controlled by the US government, or through corporations that have the US government’s interest in mind, progressive politics have been able to blossom on here,” model and activist Emily Ratajkowski posted on the app last march. TikTok has enabled creators to disseminate information rapidly, mobilize support, and foster communities around shared values, and the app quickly evolved from a generic entertainment platform to a powerful tool for advocacy and change.

It is in large part because of that advocacy that lawmakers have sought to shut TikTok down. And while these political leaders imply that the shutdown will lead to more young people simply turning back to traditional media and trusting the government on issues like foreign policy, they are sorely mistaken. Consumption patterns have shifted, and, as I wrote in my book Extremely Online, which charts the rise of the content creator industry, media is not becoming less digital or less distributed.

All of the online attention that TikTokers have harnessed will have to go somewhere, and though RedNote has amassed early hype, ultimately Meta, Google, and X will be the primary beneficiaries of this ban. TikTok's shutdown is set to create a power vacuum in the digital space and this vacuum will be seized upon by right-wing content creators seeking to gain greater prominence.

With Meta and X both outright embracing right wing ideology, and YouTube becoming increasingly saturated, progressive creators who once found a haven on TikTok, now face the near impossible task of rebuilding their communities on platforms that are hostile to their content. Most will fail, many will simply give up.

The mass deplatforming of progressive TikTok creators will lead to a rightward ideological realignment within the creator industry, which will only be exacerbated by Trump's presidency. Right wing TikTok creators are already being given resources and support in transitioning their audiences over to bigger platforms. They are being welcomed on apps like X, where many have already begun to rebuild their followings. As I've written, there's an entire support infrastructure on the right that is built to boost conservative creators. TikTokers who don't espouse right wing values are left to do it alone.

By dismantling the infrastructure that allowed progressive creators to thrive, the TikTok ban will forever reshape the online landscape. Progressive content creators will find it incredibly challenging to rebuild their platforms in a digital world increasingly aligned with conservative power structures, and the right will further consolidate its online dominance, reshaping not just the creator economy but online discourse that will ultimately shape policymaking, public opinion, and elections.

What I’m reading

How Zuck’s Misdirection On Government Pressure Goes Unchallenged

7,500 words explaining how Zuck's appearance on Joe Rogan was incredibly misleading, and how it seems likely it was done deliberately. There are a lot of receipts in this article. - TechDirt

A Times Square Billboard Seeks Aid for LA Fire Victims. Is It for Real?

With concerns growing about shady solicitations, an internet entrepreneur with a controversial business record claims he’s on the level. But is he? - The City

How the MAGA-ification of Mark Zuckerberg relates to the TikTok ban

A TikTok ban is a massive prize that Zuckerberg has been laying the groundwork on for years. Will Trump let him have it? - 404 Media

The Trouble with Elon

Sam Harris spills the details on his fallout with Musk. The post details how Musk is incapable of admitting he’s wrong to the point of ending friendships. - Sam Harris

How Ben Shapiro Conquered the MAGA-verse

A visit to AmericaFest with the Harvard-educated, show tunes-loving Orthodox Jew from deep blue L.A. who harnessed anti-woke fervor to become a right-wing rock star and build conservative media’s fastest-growing empire. - The Hollywood Reporter

For Bhattacharya, Free Speech Means Freedom To Defund Dissenters

Jay Bhattacharya’s nomination as NIH Director and stated plans represent a troubling trend of officials using claims of “free speech” to justify actual censorship and punishment of dissenting views. - TechDirt

More fun stuff

How to download your videos and data from TikTok ahead of the ban.

You can now upload 3 minute long IG Reels.

Fox news mistook a random RedNote user in Canada for the company’s CEO.

Progresso has introduced Chicken Noodle Soup lozenges, which they’re calling “soup you can suck on.“

Walgreens replaced 10,000 fridge doors with giant computers, signed a 10 year contract with the vendor. The screens sucked, they glitched out and caught fire. Walgreens tried to end contract, and the vendor bricked the computer doors.

Tesla is already discounting Cybertrucks.

New York proposes doing background checks on anyone buying a 3D printer.

Comedian Roseanne Barr dropped an insane pro-Trump rap song.

An investigation into the “leaked photo of heaven going viral on social media.”

In light of the impending TikTok ban some creators have begun admitting to grifting for views.

Jalaiah Harmon, the original creator of the ‘Renegade’ dance, did the dance for one last time on TikTok.

The Chinese version of TikTok, Douyin, has now opened up international registration, allowing users with overseas IP addresses to register without restrictions. Users can now browse videos tagged with IP locations in the U.S., U.K., Russia, Canada, Thailand, and more.

Apple Intelligence’s notification summaries keep insisting tech columnist Joanna Stern has a husband when summarizing messages from her wife.

Chinese police on Xiaohongshu aka RedNote are warning incoming Americans to be aware of scams and not to believe everything you see on the internet.

Now you can look up detailed demographic information about thousands of private schools across the country and compare them to nearby public schools.

D.C. spent $1.5 million to build a heated viewing stand for the inaugural parade that won't be happening anymore.

The law firm that sued Hawk Tuah girl for her rug pull just filed suit against pump.​fun over the PNUT memecoin. Molly White has a good thread with the breakdown.

TikTok was the American dream.

Elon Musk is grooming his young son to spout pro-Trump talking points.

taylorlorenz3.0

A post shared by @taylorlorenz3.0

Funding for U.S. creator economy startups roared back in 2024 after two straight years of declines.

Trump is planning to release an executive order elevating crypto as a policy priority.

Does fashion have an over-gifting problem? Fashion houses are flooding feeds with "It" bags du jour, turning discerning shoppers off.

Congressman Ritchie Torres has been mass deleting posts and blocking anyone who engages with content criticizing him, things you’re not supposed to do as an elected official online.

UnitedHealth, employer of slain exec Brian Thompson, found to have overcharged cancer patients for drugs by over 1,000%.

Twitch streamer Druski was on Hell’s Kitchen and surprised Gordon Ramsey with how good his dish was.

Adin Ross appears to have been taught to read using the extremely bad “whole word” method, and might not actually really know how to read. Sold a Story is an excellent podcast that breaks down why teaching children this way is so harmful.

Gen Z is already suffering a “midlife crisis.” Aren’t we all!

American woman joins Xiaohongshu on Jan 15th, asking for help to locate her childhood friend Simon from 7th grade. He was found the next day. Soon we’re going to see a lot more “Xiaohongshu do your thing!”

“I knew one day I’d have to watch powerful men burn the world down – I just didn’t expect them to be such losers.”

A mom washed dirt out of her son’s mouth and vacuumed it up off the floor… only to realize it wasn’t dirt (it was her grandfather’s ashes).

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