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It’s no secret that social media is changing the way we communicate with our politicians. From the official Democrats account on TikTok posting Zohran Mamdani mukbangs to President Trump tweeting and calling Kim Jong-un short and fat, political communication via social media has become increasingly widespread and unserious (Democrats on TikTok 2026.; Donald J. Trump [@realDonaldTrump] 2017). Historically, the most common form of nationwide addresses were the annual State of the Union addresses, weekly addresses (until the Obama administration ended them), and Prime Time addresses held in times of crisis (US House of Representatives 2026.). Now, between the top 10% most active Republican and Democrat representatives, over 200 tweets are made monthly to communicate with constituents (Mitchell 2020). Although the humorous nature and easy access to political communication gives people the opportunity to be more involved in politics than ever, it comes at a cost.

One major cost of social media being the main platform for political communication is the inability to discern real from false information due to declining media literacy. Because anyone can post on social media, finding reliable information becomes difficult, specifically when political figures are using social media as a campaign platform. Media literacy is the ability to analyze and evaluate information found in any type of communication (Rios 2024). With an abundant amount of information and little way to tell if something is real, people tend to have “some distrust [in] anything that doesn’t align with our current beliefs” (Rios 2024). This worsens political echo chambers and leaves people confused, especially when the information that people can’t decipher is coming straight from the accounts of our in-office officials.

Along with decreasing media literacy is an increase in political echo chambers. Political echo chambers come from social media algorithms, which show you the content you interact with the most; therefore, strengthening existing beliefs you hold without showing another side (Rios 2024). When political figures are the main actors communicating through social media, echo chambers show your favored party over and over, making their opinion the only opinion you can easily access, and making opposing information seem false. This has been extremely apparent with the current war in Iran. An account on X called “Commentary Donald J. Trump Posts from Truth Social” is an account that reposts President Trump’s posts from his platform Truth Social for X users. This account shared various tweets saying “Iran is panicking now” and time is running out for Iran while Democrat supporters on TikTok claim all Republicans voted against the war (Commentary Donald J. Trump Posts From Truth Social [@TrumpDailyPosts] 2026; Democrats [@TheDemocrats] 2026). Because these are both coming from official accounts, people are inclined to believe the side they are most exposed to.

Finally, the unseriousness of social media as a main communication platform from our politicians is the biggest change from previous methods. With former types of nationwide addresses, communication was formal and rather serious. Now, democrats post to X commenting “Ugly ass truck” on a picture of President Trump next to a Cyber Truck and President Trump posts AI videos to TikTok of himself dropping either mud or feces on No Kings protestors (Democrats (@TheDemocrats) / X 2025; Trump Posts AI Video Amid ‘No Kings’ Protests 2025). This stark change from formal communication to memes and performative content is deeply affecting voters and polarization.

With name-calling and online threats becoming our main form of communication from people in office, voters become stuck to their sides and unwilling to compromise. Instead of listening to alternative beliefs about social or political issues, Americans now take to social media to gloat and insult opponents (Halpin 2024). The divides between those who know about politics and those who don’t, Republicans and Democrats, and Americans and those outside the U.S. are deepening. People are becoming more extreme on each side and leaving little room for agreement across party lines. Not only has the way politicians speak changed, but the way citizens engage in politics altogether is changing. Without greater accountability for both politicians and voters, or improved media literacy, the consequences of social media threaten to change the way our democracy works altogether. A system that is dependent on uninformed citizens and unserious leaders challenges the processes and people we trust to take care of our country. Ultimately, the challenge we face as Americans is not to solely adapt to new forms of communication, but instead to ensure they strengthen, rather than undermine, the processes they now influence so heavily.

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References

Commentary Donald J. Trump Posts From Truth Social [@TrumpDailyPosts]. 2026. “Iran Is Panicking Now.” Twitter. (April 13, 2026). ��

“Democrats on TikTok.” TikTok. (April 2, 2026). ��

Democrats [@TheDemocrats]. 2026. “Almost Every Single Republican in the Senate Voted AGAINST Stopping Trump’s War in Iran. Now, Trump Is Saying, ‘an Entire Civilization Will Die Tonight.’ End the War. Bring Our Troops Home. Https://T.Co/U2b6ahUvDg.” Twitter. (April 13, 2026). ��

“Democrats (@TheDemocrats) / X.” 2025. X (formerly Twitter). (April 13, 2026). ��

Donald J. Trump [@realDonaldTrump]. 2017. “Why Would Kim Jong-Un Insult Me by Calling Me ‘Old,’ When I Would NEVER Call Him ‘Short and Fat?’ Oh Well, I Try so Hard to Be His Friend - and Maybe Someday That Will Happen!” Twitter. (April 2, 2026). ��

Halpin, John. 2024. “Social Media Has Ruined American Politics.” (April 13, 2026). ��

“List of In-Person Annual Message and State of the Union Addresses | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives.” April 2, 2026). ��

Mitchell, Travis. 2020. “How Democrats and Republicans Use Twitter.” Pew Research Center. (April 2, 2026). ��

Trump Posts AI Video Amid ‘No Kings’ Protests. (April 13, 2026). ��