US media are in crisis, increasingly falling under the control of Donald Trump's allies and putting democracy at risk. Nine months into his presidency, Trump has been successful in embedding his cronies in key institutions, including the news media.
Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle and one of the world's richest men, is a prime example of this phenomenon. He poured tens of millions into Republican coffers shortly after the 2020 election and joined a call to challenge the legitimacy of the vote. His son David has also become an influential figure, with his Skydance Media acquiring Paramount Global in August, bringing control of CBS News under his belt.
CBS News is now effectively in the hands of Trump supporters, with a Trump appointee installed as ombudsman and Bari Weiss, a former Democrat turned anti-woke crusader, made editor-in-chief. This development has been cheered on by Trump, who claims that Ellison will "do the right thing" with the network.
The acquisition also raises concerns about the impact of this new ownership on journalism. With Trump officials now briefing that they are in favour of Paramount Skydance buying Warner Bros Discovery, the parent company of HBO and CNN, it appears that more media outlets may be at risk of falling under Republican control.
In addition to these acquisitions, Larry Ellison is also leading a group of investors set to take over TikTok's US operations. Although much of Trump's own criticism of TikTok has focused on China, key Maga figures such as Josh Hawley and Marco Rubio have called for the app to be banned due to "anti-Israel" bias.
Furthermore, Oracle, Ellison's company, will oversee the TikTok algorithm. This development raises concerns about the potential for censorship and manipulation of online content. In fact, this is not an isolated incident - in 2015, Safra Catz, Oracle's Israeli-American executive chair, reportedly told former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak that "we have to embed the love and respect for Israel in the American culture."
Trump has also been successful in exerting pressure on Meta owner Mark Zuckerberg. While he threatened to "spend the rest of his life in prison" if he crossed him, Zuckerberg has since done his best to ingratiate himself with the administration.
The result is a media landscape increasingly hostile to dissenting voices and viewpoints. Liberal comedian Jimmy Kimmel had his ABC show suspended after the pro-Trump chair of the Federal Communications Commission demanded action. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting - long deemed hostile by Trump - has been defunded and shut down.
Furthermore, US media outlets have lost their Pentagon credentials after refusing to only report officially authorised information issued by the Department of Defense. Trump's lawsuits against media organisations have further cowed them.
But this is not just about media control - it is also about undermining democracy itself. Witness Trump deploying the national guard to Democratic strongholds and centralising control over elections. Republicans have launched new gerrymandering offensives, while demanding the denaturalisation and deportation of socialist New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani.
In Hungary, too, Orbán has slashed funding for opposition mayoralties. Opponents are threatened with arrest - even John Bolton, a warmonger who is often loathed by Republicans, could be next to face charges.
The US democracy is flawed and rigged in favour of wealthy elites, but it was never considered susceptible to tyranny. Complacency has led to brutal reality. With Trump having 39 months left in office, the threat to American democracy has never been greater.
Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle and one of the world's richest men, is a prime example of this phenomenon. He poured tens of millions into Republican coffers shortly after the 2020 election and joined a call to challenge the legitimacy of the vote. His son David has also become an influential figure, with his Skydance Media acquiring Paramount Global in August, bringing control of CBS News under his belt.
CBS News is now effectively in the hands of Trump supporters, with a Trump appointee installed as ombudsman and Bari Weiss, a former Democrat turned anti-woke crusader, made editor-in-chief. This development has been cheered on by Trump, who claims that Ellison will "do the right thing" with the network.
The acquisition also raises concerns about the impact of this new ownership on journalism. With Trump officials now briefing that they are in favour of Paramount Skydance buying Warner Bros Discovery, the parent company of HBO and CNN, it appears that more media outlets may be at risk of falling under Republican control.
In addition to these acquisitions, Larry Ellison is also leading a group of investors set to take over TikTok's US operations. Although much of Trump's own criticism of TikTok has focused on China, key Maga figures such as Josh Hawley and Marco Rubio have called for the app to be banned due to "anti-Israel" bias.
Furthermore, Oracle, Ellison's company, will oversee the TikTok algorithm. This development raises concerns about the potential for censorship and manipulation of online content. In fact, this is not an isolated incident - in 2015, Safra Catz, Oracle's Israeli-American executive chair, reportedly told former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak that "we have to embed the love and respect for Israel in the American culture."
Trump has also been successful in exerting pressure on Meta owner Mark Zuckerberg. While he threatened to "spend the rest of his life in prison" if he crossed him, Zuckerberg has since done his best to ingratiate himself with the administration.
The result is a media landscape increasingly hostile to dissenting voices and viewpoints. Liberal comedian Jimmy Kimmel had his ABC show suspended after the pro-Trump chair of the Federal Communications Commission demanded action. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting - long deemed hostile by Trump - has been defunded and shut down.
Furthermore, US media outlets have lost their Pentagon credentials after refusing to only report officially authorised information issued by the Department of Defense. Trump's lawsuits against media organisations have further cowed them.
But this is not just about media control - it is also about undermining democracy itself. Witness Trump deploying the national guard to Democratic strongholds and centralising control over elections. Republicans have launched new gerrymandering offensives, while demanding the denaturalisation and deportation of socialist New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani.
In Hungary, too, Orbán has slashed funding for opposition mayoralties. Opponents are threatened with arrest - even John Bolton, a warmonger who is often loathed by Republicans, could be next to face charges.
The US democracy is flawed and rigged in favour of wealthy elites, but it was never considered susceptible to tyranny. Complacency has led to brutal reality. With Trump having 39 months left in office, the threat to American democracy has never been greater.
u gotta wonder how far this media control thing is gonna go lol, like what's next? them owning up all the socials too 
? anywayz, its wild cuz ur supposed 2 have a free press but now it feels like they're just spouting whatever trump says 
. i mean dont get me wrong, trumps got his opinions and all that but this is like, media control on steroids 
- Lord Acton 
like what's happening with the media right now? Donald Trump and his allies are literally taking over everything! it's insane that Larry Ellison can just pour money into Republican coffers and end up with control of CBS News 
and now they're putting Trump supporters in key positions?! it's like a nightmare come true 
can't believe what's happening to the US media 
. It's like they're being run by a bunch of brain-dead yes-men 
. I mean, who needs unbiased journalism when you've got Trump's cronies telling you what to say and do? 
And now Larry Ellison is basically controlling CBS News, which is just laughable 
. I swear, it's like they're trying to turn the country into a cult or something 
. The fact that they're censoring liberal voices and promoting anti-woke propaganda is just a recipe for disaster 
. We need to wake up and smell the coffee before it's too late 
️.
. Larry Ellison and David Ellison's influence over CBS News is just the tip of the iceberg – what's next?!? The thought of TikTok's algorithm being controlled by Oracle makes me so uneasy 
.
. I mean, what's next?! A coup?! 
. It's not too late to make a difference – we just have to speak out and hold our leaders accountable 
.
. Like, Larry Ellison just dropped tens of millions on his buddies in 2020 and now he's got a hand in the biggest networks? What's next? A private ownership of the entire internet? 
. And now they're talking about taking over Warner Bros Discovery and HBO too? It's like the whole media landscape is getting rigged against us 
US media landscape is turning into a war zone with Donald Trump's allies pulling the strings! 