Technology

MAGA’s next wave of influencers saved TikTok

Published

1 year ago

April 29, 2025

MAGA’s next wave of influencers saved TikTok

The death knell for American TikTok should have been on March 13th, 2024, when Congress voted on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis to force its parent company to sell the app or face an outright ban. Rarely do you ever see Republicans and Democrats in agreement over anything, but both sides saw the app as a national security threat and worried that the Chinese government would use it to sow misinformation and secretly harvest its users’ personal data. After the bill was signed into law by President Joe Biden and negotiations with ByteDance dragged on, a ban seemed inevitable, even if his adversary Donald Trump won.

After all, MAGA had always been consistent about hating two things that happen to proliferate on TikTok: the Chinese Communist Party, whom they believed were secretly bankrolling the Bidens; and people who openly support Palestine. And in 2020, Trump signed an executive order attempting to ban TikTok, partially after seeing how TikTok was boosting support for his then-rival Joe Biden.

But months after the law officially kicked in, Trump sits in the Oval Office, TikTok remains online under Chinese ownership, and its fate hinges on whether the US and China can come to an agreement that would end an international trade war that’s already wiped out over $5 trillion. Trump has repeatedly extended a (dubiously legal) pause on enforcing the ban, which could well be pushed back even farther. And this time, you really can blame the kids for this one.

Every old elected official has an army of younger, ambitious staffers supporting them — drafting the bills, filling their schedules, and staying up late to run files up and down the halls. And the day that bill passed, the Republican Hill staffers were glued to the app, binging on aspirational content from right-wing TikTokers as their bosses railed about threats to national security next door. It was those younger, ambitious staffers who eventually got in Trump’s ear as he conducted his alternative media blitz to the White House.

It had taken a few years for them to come around, but young MAGA influencers were less inclined to see the app as a Chinese psy-ops machine. One of the final blows came when a 2022 Washington Post investigation revealed that Meta, a company they widely loathed for its content moderation policies and meddlesome CEO, had been paying a Republican comms firm called Targeted Victory to push a narrative tying TikTok to the CCP. (If there’s anything they hate more than Big Tech, it’s GOP establishment consultants working in cahoots with Big Tech.)

Any lingering hesitations on Trump’s part vanished weeks after the law’s passage. The New York Times reported in May of 2024 that TikTok’s internal metrics revealed users vastly preferred Trump over Biden: there had been 1.29 million pro-Trump posts versus 651,000 pro-Biden posts since November 2023.

“That was a big wake-up call for a lot of us, when we saw that Gen Z was really supportive of President Trump,” a Republican digital operative familiar with the campaign’s strategy told The Verge. Trump soon launched his own account, TikTokers soon started reposting his content, and as the operative put it: “His account just crushed.”

One reelection and 100 days later — after his collabs were served into the feeds of Logan Paul and Aiden Ross’s followers outside the right-wing media ecosystem, after viral trends turned his awkward old-man dances into NFL touchdown celebration fodder, and after he promised to keep TikTok alive in the US in defiance of the Republican olds — Trump’s TikTok presence is now his crucial lifeline to the zoomers, who would have dismissed him as a boomer if he hadn’t packaged his attacks on the press and dehumanization of undocumented immigrants into an account speaking in their language of deep-fried 4Chan memes, aggressive use of emoji in captions, AI-generated images of Trump heroically protecting the border, and pro-Trump content hopping on the latest trending songs. (But in a based and red-pilled way, not a cringe way).

While Congress was passing its TikTok ban, congressional staffers were glued to their feeds

Over its roughly one-year lifetime, according to journalist Kyle Tharp, the campaign account @TeamTrump has garnered 2.8 billion views, the most of any campaign or politician on the platform. In contrast, the Democrats’ TikTok account has roughly 670 million views, while @KamalaHQ, the official account of Kamala Harris’s campaign, has been inactive since December. The momentum has carried past the election, too: since January 1st, @TeamTrump has gained a staggering 230 million views and 16 million likes. That month, Trump posted an infographic on Truth Social showing his performance on the platform and asked: “Why would I want to get rid of TikTok?”

Trump is best known as an all-caps microblogger, and he’s several decades older than the vast majority of TikTok’s users. (Roughly 70 percent of American TikTok users are between 18 and 34.) But ever since the 1980s, Trump’s spent his entire adult life shamelessly feeding outrageous quotes and juicy, scandalous stories about himself to New York City tabloids and reality television, two voracious media ecosystems where all attention is good attention. Trump is basically doing the same thing in 2025, just with some technology involved. As a new media consultant might put it, he’s generating nonstop, attention-grabbing content for a social media platform — one that rewards creators who consistently upload content that viewers find engaging enough, whether out of entertainment or anger, to watch for more than two seconds. “TikTok is primarily an entertainment app,” noted the digital operative, “and our usage of it was just significantly more savvy than [the Democrats].”

Say what you will about geopolitical security and trade wars: if your goal is to convince enough Americans that you are a good president, it is absolutely worth keeping TikTok around for that reach alone. (Perhaps in a show of gratitude for swaying Trump and saving their company, TikTok sponsored a glitzy DC party on the eve of the inauguration in honor of MAGA’s biggest content creators.)

America has a long history of right-wing demagogues who grow their power via mass communication, from Father Coughlin on the radio in the 1930s, to Roger Ailes on cable television in the 2000s. The MAGA social media influencers are their digital descendants. They’re building a massive audience, holding their attention, and getting them to vote a certain way or boycott a certain thing — a political skill, no matter how you cut it, just like knocking on doors and kissing babies.

MAGA influencers see TikTok as a relatively stable platform for their work

Granted, they were not the first to the game: Barack Obama famously used Twitter to reach out to younger voters, raise hundreds of millions of dollars, and bypass traditional media. But the Democrats were never able to replicate his success, whereas the Republicans paid attention, studied his tactics, and launched training camps to create their own digital influencer army. By the time of the 2024 Republican primaries, their power was such that Ron DeSantis was actively trying to draft influencers to serve as his online surrogates, and Trump had stacked his war room with his own influencers, who ultimately persuaded him to get on TikTok.

MAGA influencers also view TikTok as a relatively reliable platform to publish pro-Trump content without fear that their accounts will get demonetized, restricted, or worse, deactivated. After the events of January 6th, the MAGA influencer-industrial complex faced an existential crisis when tech companies began clamping down on their accounts: AWS booted the right-wing social media network Parler from its servers, while Facebook and Twitter shut down the accounts of election-denying content creators and influencers — including the ones that belonged to the President of the United States — causing them to suddenly lose their massive follower counts, and in some cases, their livelihoods.

TikTok had adopted the industry’s content moderation best practices at the time, removing QAnon content, vaccine conspiracies, and covid misinformation. Its broader policies around violence and sexually suggestive words helped inspire the rise of self-censoring “algospeak.” But it escaped right-wing scrutiny at the time — there largely were no high-profile MAGA accounts, much less any as high-profile as the President, to deplatform.

This left the door open for pro-Trump influencers to have a fresh start on TikTok, albeit with tempered expectations. The benefits of reaching a new audience began to override suspicions of Chinese interference. “It was a slow burn,” Vish Burra, the executive secretary of the New York Young Republicans Club who’s previously served as a communications adviser for Matt Gaetz and George Santos, told The Verge. “People on the right, especially young people, were appreciative of TikTok for being around and not canceling people and still paying people out.” They also realized that TikTok content could be uploaded to other platforms, whether on purpose or whether it just happened naturally. All good viral TikToks eventually end up on Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts — a trend the Trump campaign leaned into by reposting its favorite pro-Trump TikToks to its X account.

Many MAGA creators don’t believe that TikTok labels their political views (regressive as they may be) as hate speech violating its terms of service agreements. “Maybe they take your video down, but they don’t, like, crush your whole channel,” says Burra.

“These fucking people are worthless, and you can’t trust them”

Giving the MAGA influencers access to the app preserves their ability to push Trump’s message to a Gen Z audience, and in turn, gives him more momentum to steamroll over Republicans’ traditional third-rail issues: the China hawks, the pro-Israel officials who believe the app serves up too much pro-Palestine content, the evangelicals who think the app is turning the children into enbies, the business lobby terrified that a fight over an entertainment app for young people could prolong a trade war. It also fits into his biggest brand attribute: being good at deals. (In a Supreme Court filing opposing the ban, the administration bragged about Trump’s “consummate dealmaking expertise” and mentioned, without any specifics, that his first term was “highlighted by a series of policy triumphs achieved through historic deals.”)

None of this has translated into actual trust that TikTok will remain friendly, however. Due to its foreign ownership, MAGA users feel the algorithm and content moderation policies are somewhat insulated from American political changes. But given that whoever’s in the White House directly controls whether Google and Apple can keep it on their app stores, that insulation looks threadbare. And TikTok is still theoretically looking to sell to a US owner. Over the past several months, these users have watched tech CEOs like Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos (who are far less legally vulnerable than TikTok) rapidly restructure their companies’ core values — cutting DEI programs, eliminating content moderation policies, even turning a legacy newspaper into a “free market” mouthpiece — hoping to appease Trump and get tariff exemptions in return. And if a tech CEO can turn MAGA overnight for business purposes, they believe, there’s nothing stopping them from flipping back if a Democrat becomes president.

“The moment a Democrat is in, these fucking people are worthless, and you can’t trust them,” Burra says. “[The CEOs] will just start fucking canceling people and tweaking algorithms once the Democrats come and say, ‘We’re gonna fucking regulate you if you don’t.’”

But TikTok posing a national security threat — the reason that MAGA initially wanted a ban — now seems to be a nonissue. Besides, Burra says, he and his peers grew up under the assumption that some mysterious entity somewhere was already spying on them: a corporation, the CIA, China, whatever. “Everyone has my data except me. At least can’t I enjoy it? Can’t I make some money?”

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Technology

T-Mobile is booting customers from its oldest plans

Published

1 hour ago

June 29, 2026

Press Room

T-Mobile is booting customers from its oldest plans

We’re retiring our oldest plans, some of which were built nearly 15 years ago – in the 3G and 4G eras, and well before our 5G network was fully deployed. Customers will transition to modern plans that provide access to America’s best wireless technology, enhanced features and a 5-year price guarantee for peace of mind. Some customers will see no change to their monthly bill, while some will see a modest adjustment. Every customer moved to a new plan will keep their current benefits while gaining improvements in network and service experiences.

Technology

Texas data breach hits 3M license customers

Published

2 hours ago

June 29, 2026

Press Room

Texas data breach hits 3M license customers

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Buying a hunting or fishing license should feel like one of the safest things you do online. You pick the license, pay for it and get ready for your next trip outdoors. But now, a cyberattack tied to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has put personal information for more than three million license customers at risk.

The agency says the attack hit a vendor that handles the sale of hunting and fishing licenses. Texas Cyber Command detected the incident, and the state says an unauthorized actor may have obtained personal data from customer profiles. That is the part that should get your attention. Even when credit card numbers and Social Security numbers are spared, your license details, phone number and home address can still give scammers a lot to work with.

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FBI WARNS MICROSOFT USERS ABOUT PASSWORDLESS SCAM

Millions of Texas hunting and fishing license holders are being urged to monitor their accounts after a vendor cyberattack exposed sensitive personal data. (Photo Illustration by Thomas Imo/Photothek via Getty Images)

What happened in the Texas Parks and Wildlife data breach

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department says its license system vendor was hit by a cybersecurity incident.

The agency says the investigation found that an unauthorized actor may have obtained data tied to 3,087,721 Texas hunting and fishing license customers.

TPWD did not identify the vendor in its public notice. However, it says it has strengthened access controls for customer profile data and plans to add more security features.

In other words, this involved a state license system connected to millions of people.

What information may have been exposed

TPWD says the exposed information may include:

Driver license information
Passport numbers, if provided
Email addresses
Phone numbers
Residential addresses

That mix of data can help criminals sound convincing. A scammer who knows your name, phone number, home address and license-related details can make a fake call or email feel very personal.

The agency says Social Security numbers, dates of birth and financial information, including credit card details, were not obtained. TPWD also says there is no evidence that customers under 18 were involved or that any specific group was targeted.

Still, this breach should not be brushed off. Driver license information and passport numbers can create serious problems if they fall into the wrong hands.

Why this breach can still put you at risk

You might hear that hackers did not get credit card numbers and breathe a sigh of relief. I get that. But scammers do not always need your full financial file to cause trouble. Personal details can help them impersonate a state agency, a license vendor or even a bank. One message may claim there is a problem with your license account. Another may ask you to “verify” your identity. A fake link can also look official enough to trick someone who is moving fast.

That is where this kind of breach gets dangerous. The more a scammer knows about you, the easier it becomes to lower your guard. A fake message that includes accurate personal details can feel legitimate, especially if it shows up right after a public breach.

What Texas Parks and Wildlife says it has done

TPWD says immediate steps were taken to strengthen access controls for customer profile data. The agency also says it is working with the license system vendor to add more safeguards and enhanced monitoring.

In a statement to CyberGuy, TPWD said, “We recognize the seriousness of this issue and have identified and implemented additional security options to better protect customer information. Many of our staff are hunters and anglers and were affected by this incident. We are committed to working with the license system vendor to implement increased safeguards.”

Fishing guide Mike McBride of Port Mansfield, Texas, adds a third fish to his catch of redfish in the Lower Laguna Madre. (Bob Hood/Fort Worth Star-Telegram/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

TPWD also said license sales will continue on schedule for August and the next license year, adding that it believes “current and future customer data are not at risk.”

That means customers should be able to buy hunting and fishing licenses as planned while the state works through the fallout from the breach.

Who should take action now

If you bought a Texas hunting or fishing license, use this breach as a reason to check your accounts and tighten your identity protections.

Affected customers can confirm eligibility for one year of free credit monitoring by calling the dedicated response line at 844-959-7123.

The enrollment deadline is Sept. 14, 2026. The call center is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. CT.

Do not wait for a suspicious charge or strange letter to show up. Breach cleanup works best when you act before someone tries to use your information.

How to protect yourself after the Texas Parks and Wildlife data breach

If you bought a Texas hunting or fishing license, these steps can help you reduce your risk and spot suspicious activity early.

1) Sign up for credit monitoring or consider identity theft protection

If you are eligible, sign up for the free credit monitoring before September 14, 2026. Credit monitoring can alert you when new credit activity appears in your name. It will not stop every type of identity fraud, but it can give you an early warning. If you were not affected by this breach, now is still a good time to consider identity theft protection. These services can help monitor your personal information, alert you to suspicious activity and guide you if someone tries to use your identity. See my tips and best picks on Best Identity Theft Protection at Cyberguy.com

2) Freeze your credit

A credit freeze is one of the strongest moves you can make after a breach. It makes it harder for someone to open a new account in your name. You need to freeze your credit separately with Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. It is free. You can also lift the freeze when you need to apply for credit.

EMPTY ENVELOPES IN YOUR MAILBOX? DO NOT SCAN THAT CODE

Texas officials say a vendor breach may have exposed driver’s license information, passport numbers and contact details, but not Social Security numbers or payment information. (Photo by Philip Dulian/picture alliance via Getty Images)

3) Add a fraud alert

A fraud alert tells lenders to take extra steps before opening new credit in your name. You can place a free one-year fraud alert by contacting one of the major credit bureaus. That bureau should notify the other two. This is a good option if you want extra protection but are not ready to freeze your credit.

4) Report identity theft if something looks wrong

If you see signs that someone used your information, report it right away. That could include new accounts you did not open, strange letters about benefits, unfamiliar bills or credit checks you do not recognize. The FTC’s IdentityTheft.gov can help you create a recovery plan based on what happened.

5) Remove your personal information from people-search sites

Your name, address and phone number may already appear on data broker sites. A breach can make that exposure feel even more personal. A data removal service can help reduce how much of your personal information appears online. You can also manually request removal from major people-search sites. Check out my top picks for data removal services and get a free scan to find out if your personal information is already out on the web by visiting CyberGuy.com.

6) Watch for driver’s license misuse

Because driver’s license information may have been exposed, pay close attention to anything tied to your ID. That includes notices about duplicate licenses, address changes, traffic issues, government benefits or accounts you did not request. If something feels off, contact the proper agency directly. Do not use a phone number or link from a surprise message.

7) Be careful with passport-related scams

If you provided a passport number, be extra cautious with calls or emails that claim there is a problem with your passport or travel documents. Do not give out personal information to someone who contacts you first. Go directly to the official agency website or call a verified number instead.

8) Watch for fake TPWD messages

Scammers may use this breach as bait. Be careful with any email, text or call that claims to come from Texas Parks and Wildlife, a license vendor or a credit monitoring service. Do not click links from surprise messages. Go directly to the official website or call the dedicated response line instead.

9) Use strong antivirus software

Scammers may use this breach to send fake emails, texts or links that look official. Strong antivirus software can help block malicious links, detect phishing attempts and warn you before you download something dangerous. Keep it updated on your phone, tablet and computer so it can catch newer threats. Get my picks for the best 2026 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices at CyberGuy.com.

10) Do not share verification codes

If someone calls and asks for a code sent to your phone or email, stop. That is a major red flag. Scammers use those codes to get into accounts. No legitimate support agent should pressure you to hand one over.

11) Check your financial accounts

Even though TPWD says financial information was not obtained, you should still review your bank and credit card statements. Look for small test charges, unfamiliar subscriptions or anything that seems off. Report suspicious activity right away.

12) Use strong passwords and two-factor authentication

This breach does not appear to involve passwords, but scammers may use exposed personal details to target your other accounts. Use a password manager to create strong, unique passwords. Turn on two-factor authentication (2FA) for important accounts, especially email, banking and shopping accounts.

WORLD CUP TICKET SCAMS TARGET DESPERATE FANS

A cyberattack tied to a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department vendor may have exposed the personal information of more than 3 million hunting and fishing license customers. (Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Kurt’s key takeaways

This breach is a reminder that everyday government transactions can carry a lot of personal data behind the scenes. You may think of a hunting or fishing license as a routine purchase. But the information connected to that purchase can include driver’s license details, passport numbers, phone numbers and your home address. That gives imposters enough context to make a scam sound believable. The best move now is to stay ahead of it. Use the official response line, sign up for monitoring if you qualify, freeze your credit and be extra careful with any surprise message about your license or identity. The vendor may have been the target, but Texans are the ones left watching their information.

Should state agencies be required to publicly name vendors after a breach this large, or would that make future investigations harder? Let us know by writing to us at CyberGuy.com.

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Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on “FOX & Friends.” Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.

Technology

The Flipper Zero creators’ Busy Bar productivity display will go on sale next month

Published

12 hours ago

June 29, 2026

Press Room

The Flipper Zero creators’ Busy Bar productivity display will go on sale next month

First announced over a year ago in April 2025, the Busy Bar will be available for purchase starting on July 14th when the device also starts shipping. Created by the same team behind the Flipper Zero wireless multitool, the Busy Bar is instead described as a “productivity multitool” that relies on a pixelated LED display to help reduce distractions and improve focus. The first 3,000 units purchased on July 14th will be discounted to $199, but the Busy Bar will normally retail for $249. Those who previously joined the Busy Bar waitlist will still be able to purchase one next month for $179.

The Busy Bar looks a lot like an alarm clock, but it’s designed to be used on a desk, perched atop a monitor or cubicle wall, or mounted to a wall or door. When installed in a place where it’s visible to coworkers, family, or roommates, the Busy Bar serves as a status display letting others know when you’re focusing on a task and shouldn’t be distracted.

At the push of a button, the Busy Bar will display a highly visible status message on its 72 x 16 LED pixelated screen that can include a countdown timer so potential distractors know when you’ll be available again. Alongside the status display, the Busy Bar can start a Pomodoro timer and mute notifications on other devices. The Busy Mode can be set to automatically activate through custom triggers, including when you join a phone call, start streaming, begin recording audio, or just open a specific app. It’s also Matter-compatible, allowing it to trigger smart home automations when you need to focus, such as dimming lights or playing music on a speaker.

Flipper Devices has created an open API for the Busy Bar so developers can create their own third-party apps to expand its usefulness and capabilities. You can potentially tie it into an office’s scheduling system to indicate when meeting rooms are booked or available, for example. There will also be accompanying apps available for the device on iOS, Android, macOS, and watchOS, with a native Windows app planned for later this year.