Pres. Donald Trump has received support from several leaders of the tech world. CEOs of some of the largest social media industries have been making changes to their apps, leaning into the conservative politics of the new president. New developments in the government raised questions as to what these tech giants are getting in return.

In his farewell address, former U.S. Pres. Joe Biden warned the public that an oligarchy was gaining power in the country. Patricia Crouse, Adjunct Professor of Political Science at the University of New Haven, said Biden was referencing the wealthy people who donated “millions” to Trump’s inauguration.

“They did this because there is an expectation of a quid pro quo relationship now. I think Biden’s fear is that the wealthy elites are buying access and favor with the Trump administration and if that is the case, the majority of Americans are left out of the process,” Crouse said.

On Jan. 7, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the ending of Meta’s third party fact-checking program. This change to the algorithm was made because the company felt they needed to “restore free expression” on the app.

“There is now no monitoring on X or Meta platforms so Trump can freely get his message out whether what he says is truthful or not, as can anyone now on those social media platforms,” said Crouse.

Another CEO who catered to the president is Elon Musk. During his presidential campaign, Trump received over $200 million because of Musk, but claimed that he didn’t need the help to win.

“They’re not going to get anything from me,” said Trump. The president also said that the tech executives were all on Biden’s side, but they made the pivot to him when they learned Biden “didn’t know what the hell he was talking about.”
On Jan. 20, Trump created the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to slash federal funding. Musk is the head of the DOGE Task Force. According to DOGE’s X account, they’ve already saved more than $1 billion by cancelling certain expenses and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) contracts.

Crouse said that Musk is an unelected member of the bureaucracy, and he has received no pushback from Congress even with those circumstances.

“Musk is making decisions that impact our democracy, rights, and freedom and yet we did not elect him to this position to make those decisions,” Crouse said.

Zuckerberg, Musk and TikTok’s Shou Zi Chew attended Trump’s inauguration, and sat where the president’s family and other guests of honor would normally sit.

TikTok was briefly banned in the United States in January, but was restored with this message:”As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.,” the app said.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said that TikTok referring to Trump as the president when he was still a private citizen was “a choice.” The presidential inauguration wasn’t until the following day, meaning Biden was still the president when TikTok was restored.
“And for all of those concerns that people were saying that TikTok is going to be used as a propaganda tool by the Chinese, understand they’re using it as a propaganda tool for the right,” said Ocasio-Cortez on her Instagram story.

Crouse said that referring to Trump as the president was the app falling in line. “I think it was just another message to Trump that they were going to bend to his will much like all the other social media platforms had done,” she said.

TikTok officials say nothing has changed on the platform since its return. Some content creators on the app think differently. A comedian named Pat Loller made a satirical video about Musk and claimed it was facing sharing restrictions. Others said that comments that were previously accepted, like the phrase “Free Palestine,” were being deleted as well.

Kylie O’Neil, a senior communications student at the University of New Haven, said she uses TikTok to find out about current issues.
“I used TikTok as a starting point for all of my political research so I could know a lot of things were going on when mainstream news wasn’t covering it,” O’Neil said. She also said she noticed a change in her TikTok experience.

“I am actively fighting my algorithm to show me the creators and kinds of posts I was interacting with before the ban,” she said. O’Neil also said she thought the most popular social media CEOs are moving toward the right, and that could impact the content that can be shared on those apps.

“The societal lean we are seeing towards conservative ideology will more than likely affect what content is pushed and suppressed based on the preferences of the CEO and the people they want to please,” she said.

She said the president wouldn’t do anything to stop that.

“There is a slim chance he will prioritize or even consider stopping this from happening despite its implications on free speech and the average person’s access to information from social media platforms,” she said.

With the tech giants’ support of the president, more could change on social media to match the views of Trump’s America. They could have an advantage if they abide by his orders. Crouse said that the CEOs have fallen in line with Trump’s message.

“These CEOs have two things that benefit Trump, a platform and money,” Crouse said.