Move over, Messi, a new name’s entered the debate for the GOAT of soccer. At least, that’s what may have seemed to be the case on November 20th, 2025 when President Trump posted a video of himself playing soccer with Christiano Ronaldo in the Oval Office, generated with artificial intelligence. But President Trump has been familiar with artificial intelligence for a while. On October 18th, the day of the second No Kings Protest, in which millions took to the streets to protest against the president, he posted a video of himself wearing a crown with a fighter jet that said “King Trump,” dropping excrement over the protestors. Before then, a video of Gaza as a luxury resort, with the words “Trump Gaza” at the front. These are just three of many incidents. With Donald Trump’s presidency, the official White House account has posted countless videos of the president using artificial intelligence. Social media has been at the forefront of politics ever since its creation. Now more than ever it seems to be our biggest ground of free speech—as well as propaganda. In the modern age, AI generated content on social media serves as a threat to democracy, and President Trump’s use of it is a strong indicator of authoritarianism. As a propagator of misinformation and tool of radicalization, it serves as a nuclear bomb in political warfare on the internet.
Propaganda as political messaging has been around since the Roman Empire. Augustus Caesar used art, architecture, and literature to promote the Pax Romana and create a positive perception of his rule. In more modern times, propaganda was used heavily in Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Soviet Russia by Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, and Joseph Stalin, respectively. Antisemitism, eugenics, and communism, were some of the ideas promoted by their totalitarian regimes. However, besides just ideological propaganda, the age of dictators also saw a rise in cults of personality. A famous example is a picture taken of Mussolini shirtless, in which he appears to be picking wheat. We are not used to seeing our leaders in such vulnerable positions. When Mussolini published this photograph, he became just like every other man who does hard labor and takes his shirt off in heat. However even when he is amongst men, he is still superior to them in some way, socially, economically, or politically. He has goggles that most civilians would not be able to access, and nice clothes. He conveys to you: he is just like you, only better. These tactics have been used by various authoritarian leaders over the years, and many of these leaders propaganda to thank for their success. Propaganda serves to control a narrative. In the modern age, AI makes this especially dangerous.
Social media has allowed politicians to directly interact with voters, removing the barriers that news outlets used to set. A recent example is President Trump’s usage of X (formerly Twitter), which has often sparked outrage for his bold statements. One instance was on May 29, 2020, in which he spoke on the Black Lives Matter movement: “These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd…just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him the military is with him all the way…when the looting starts, the shooting starts.” The tweet was restricted for glorifying violence. It used a phrase from the civil rights era, used by Miami’s police chief at the time to warn Black neighborhoods of police aggression. President Trump’s usage of Twitter kept him in the public news cycle for many years, arguably helping him be reelected in 2024.
Social media can also lead to echo chambers, which in turn often radicalize people. Algorithms favor content you have already shown interest in, and ideas that others who have similar interests are also interested in. This causes a cycle in which one political opinion leads to videos, sometimes containing misinformation, that further align with similar ideas. 54% of American adults say they get their news from social media. A study conducted at the University of Oslo found that selective exposure to content is very prevalent on social media, and users will nearly always prefer to consume content that does not challenge their worldviews but rather affirms them. Though social media has its positive effects on outreach, it has greatly negative effects on democracy and partisanship. Algorithms enforce and radicalize people, and the ability to directly interact with world leaders creates a parasocial relationship. A poll by Axios found that of people who were intending to vote for President Trump in the 2024 election, 71% said they thought that what he told them was true, higher than what they said for family members. 95% of these voters said that they believe Trump “fights for people like them.” Social media reaffirms this idea that politicians are “just like us,” and this sentiment has been very prominent in authoritarian regimes in the past.
Many dismiss Trump’s videos as simply “jokes,” but as the leader of one of the most powerful countries in the world, there is power in “jokes.” On September 29th, he posted an AI video of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, hours after meeting with him. The video depicted Jeffries with an exaggerated mustache and a sombrero, common Mexican stereotypes, and added false claims about Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s plans. Jeffries expressed his distaste with the video, calling it racist, criticizing Trump’s unseriousness and lack of professionalism. Comments under the video of Jeffries’ response say: “Ok, more memes are on the way then LOL” and “Hey Juan Jeffries. What’s up Homie?” Other comments praise Trump. This is an example of memetic warfare, in which memes are used by politicians as a method to spread propaganda and control public opinion. The Trump Administration is aware of this. Memes gain attention and virality extremely quickly, becoming very efficient in influencing public opinion. They also make the administration seem more down to earth. Trump has said his use of AI is meant to appeal to younger voters. When the national government makes memes just like normal people, they become relatable. The aforementioned “Trump Gaza” and “King Trump” videos aren’t just memes in poor taste—they’re propaganda.
Specifically, AI is a breeding ground for misinformation. With deepfakes and generative AI getting stronger every day, it has become harder to tell what is real and what is not on social media. To use AI in political messaging will only breed ignorance, as political messaging will lose its reliability, and simultaneously be less focused on an informed public but rather an entertained public. Artificial intelligence is becoming a serious threat to many job fields, as well as to identification, the environment, misinformation, and so much more. Historically, in authoritarian regimes, the media has been essential in maintaining public support. With the shift towards social media, it becomes easier to manipulate algorithms to push certain messages. Former MSNBC host Joy Reid expressed her concern for the control of the media, stating: “Yeah, and the Netflix president had to go have a personal conversation with Trump to get him to approve the deal…It’s like, in the end, we’re going to have like five media companies. They’re going to own everything and own everything from social media to regular media.”
Social media is society’s favorite double edged sword. Its influence on politics can often be good—it brings outreach to philanthropic causes, helps organize fundraisers, and informs the public. But the power of social media can and is often abused. As the Trump Administration finishes its first year, we have seen a resemblance to the formations of an authoritarian government, ridden with populism and solidified by social media influence that jeopardizes democracy. We must think critically when we consume our content, in the interest of preventing ignorance.
