A month into the second term of “he who shall not be named,” we’ve experienced a whirlwind of oligarchy combined with rollbacks of much of the progress we have made in this century. The speed of change is meant to be overwhelming, and it can lead to anxiety and exhaustion, but you know who isn’t helping keep order amid the chaos? Traditional media!
Legacy outlets like the New York Times and The Washington Post offer only lackluster “what went wrong?” articles or rage-bait headlines, and there’s a general lack of pushback or actual advice on what to do to resist the arrival of fascism in America. Meanwhile, Trump and Elon are tearing down our governmental institutions which leads many of us to scratch our heads and yell at the TV news in frustration because “no one ever asks follow-up questions!”
Traditional media has lost touch with the hearts and minds of many on the left. Our usually dependable outlets didn’t put up much resistance to the rise of Trump in 2016, and there was even less reporting on his shortcomings in 2024. Now in 2025, traditional media outlets are not reporting on the things we want to hear about, such as marches, strikes, and protests, along with successful lawsuits to halt Elon’s daily purges in the federal government. Progressive voices with plans like Bernie Sanders, Jasmine Crockett, and AOC are nowhere to be heard, but time is given to bland press conferences and “experts” who love the sound of their own voices. We don’t know about you, but we’ve lost confidence in the likes of CNN, ABC, NBC, and even MSNBC and NPR. The New York Times is out there trying to pretend like this is all normal, and the Washington Post is owned by an oligarch, so it’s not coming to rescue us peasants any time soon.
In these bleak times, we’re turning to independent journalists to provide a daily dose of relevant and factual political news. Whether you prefer short-form video (Bryan Tyler Cohen, Politics Girl, David Pakman), punchy tabloid-style social media posts (The Tennessee Holler, Meidas Touch News), or long-form discussion (Heather Cox Richardson or The Atlantic), there’s someone out there doing the work to bring you actual helpful information.
Which journalists and platforms are you leaning on to get you through Trump 2.0?
We’ve made a list of our favorite independent journalists and where to find them. As a bonus, we’re also recommending which social media platforms left-leaning folks should avoid and which ones are more likely to offer factual content. Plus some good accounts to follow to get you started.
SHORT FORM VIDEO
- Brian Tyler Cohen: Youtube, Substack, BlueSky
- Politics Girl: Youtube, Substack, BlueSky
- David Pakman: Youtube, BlueSky, Substack
TABLOID STYLE
- The Tennessee Holler: website, Youtube, BlueSky, Substack
- Meidas Touch News: website, Youtube, Bluesky, Substack
- Mother Jones News: website
LONG FORM/ESSAY STYLE JOURNALISM
- The Atlantic (unfortunately articles are behind a paywall, but it’s worth it if you can afford a subscription): website, YouTube, BlueSky
- Heather Cox Richardson: YouTube, BlueSky, SubStack
Our Favorite Social Media Platforms for 2025
We at the Montgomery County TN Democratic Party are leaning into platforms with sensible newsfeeds. At the same time, we’re putting less effort into popularity contest oligarch-owned platforms that lead to airhead influencer posts reaching millions (Instagram) while actionable posts from organizations get ignored, or with algorithms that are designed to promote right-wing talking points (Twitter), or newsfeeds full of pay-to-play junk (Facebook). Our current favorite is BlueSky. It’s independently owned and feels like Twitter before fascists got hold of it. Just remember to limit your social media time so you don’t end up doomscrolling like it’s 2016!
Montgomery County Democrats are on BlueSky – come and rebel with us!
