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Kyle Tharp

@kylewilsontharp.bsky.social
4.1K followers 318 following 292 posts

Writer & researcher | Author of Chaotic Era, a newsletter about politics, media, and online influence | 15x ultramarathoner | Subscribe: www.chaoticera.news

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Reposted by Kyle Tharp
Kyle Tharp @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Believe it or not, this is really the first election cycle where downballot Republican candidates are using TikTok in large numbers. It’s going… ok I guess www.chaoticera.news/p/the-wild-w...
chaoticera.news
The wild world of Republican TikTok
GOP candidates, party committees, and Trump admin officials have joined the platform in record numbers this year...
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Kyle Tharp @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Believe it or not, this is really the first election cycle where downballot Republican candidates are using TikTok in large numbers. It’s going… ok I guess www.chaoticera.news/p/the-wild-w...
chaoticera.news
The wild world of Republican TikTok
GOP candidates, party committees, and Trump admin officials have joined the platform in record numbers this year...
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Reposted by Kyle Tharp
Kyle Tharp @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
It's been a weird week in Washington www.chaoticera.news/p/washington...
chaoticera.news
Washington wakes to the politics of doom
The recent AI safety news cycle shows our political leaders are gravely unprepared for what's coming.
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Kyle Tharp @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
It's been a weird week in Washington www.chaoticera.news/p/washington...
chaoticera.news
Washington wakes to the politics of doom
The recent AI safety news cycle shows our political leaders are gravely unprepared for what's coming.
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Kyle Tharp @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
🤔 As the midterms enter their final stretch to Election Day, Republican Senate candidates are using grieving families as raw material for ads — without their permission. www.chaoticera.news/p/republican...
chaoticera.news
Republican crime ads are back. The victims' families didn't sign up for this.
As the midterms enter silly season, Republican Senate candidates are using grieving families as raw material for ads — without their permission.
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Reposted by Kyle Tharp
The Tennessee Holler @thetnholler.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
From @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social : “More Democratic congressional candidates than ever have voiced support for Medicare for All… 163 (roughly 38%) explicitly support Medicare for All or a single-payer healthcare system…” #MedicareForAllNOW www.chaoticera.news/p/a-record-n...
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Kyle Tharp @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
📊 New data: Nearly 4 in 10 Democrats running for Congress this cycle support Medicare for All, likely a record. But, because of the way primaries and retirements shook out, support for single-payer in the next Congress may not increase by much. www.chaoticera.news/p/a-record-n...
chaoticera.news
A record number of Democrats are running on Medicare for All
Nearly four in ten Democratic U.S. House candidates now back a single payer healthcare system, but very few are running in the districts that will decide the majority.
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Reposted by Kyle Tharp
Carly Evans @carlyevans.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Another banger from @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social, but I'm admittedly a pretty big fan of this particular observation. (Link to our full analysis on Flock below)
The issue appears to have really taken off earlier this summer, and back in July, Magnitude Media, a progressive communications organization that tracks political content online, noted in its daily analysis that Democrats and progressive groups had a major messaging opportunity emerging around the issue. Their prediction has held up. Since then, major non-political and political creators alike have kept posting, audiences have kept engaging, and as the chart below shows, more Americans than ever are Googling the company.
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Kyle Tharp @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
First data centers and now surveillance cameras, the new midterm election season bogeyman that many political watchers didn't see coming 🫡 www.chaoticera.news/p/democrats-...
chaoticera.news
Democrats run against the AI-powered MAGA surveillance state
As content about Flock cameras goes viral online, a handful of midterm candidates are beginning to run against them...
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Kyle Tharp @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
On TikTok, there's one politician in America that posts more and (as a result) gets more views than everyone else — and it's not even close! www.chaoticera.news/p/cory-booke...
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Kyle Tharp @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
FYSA, relative Google search interest for Natalie Harp is surging rn 🚀
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Kyle Tharp @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
🚨 I pulled together a list of the 3️⃣8️⃣ best politics, media, and social media newsletters I'm reading ahead of the midterms 🚨 www.chaoticera.news/p/every-news...
chaoticera.news
Every newsletter you should read for politics, media, and technology news in 2026
Subscribe to these publications to stay in the know...
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Reposted by Kyle Tharp
Michael Kruse @michaelkruse.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
“... there’s a lot of increased competition on both the right and left in the partisan media space,” says @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social.
nytimes.com
The MAGA Media Machine Is Fracturing
Once united in support of President Trump, right-wing influencers are embroiled in feuds and losing viewers, creating a problem for Republicans in the midterm elections.
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Reposted by Kyle Tharp
tara mcgowan @taraemcg.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Two charts worth a thousand words about the contrast between establishment support + organic enthusiasm in the MI Senate Dem Primary from @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social 👇 His full post is (always) worth the read -- www.chaoticera.news/p/the-money-...
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Reposted by Kyle Tharp
Kyle Tharp @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
📊 NEW: Progressives feared that TikTok's new ownership would suppress their views or skew content on the platform to the Right. Data shows that in the 6 months since the company's deal closed, there has been no significant shift in reach or engagement on political content 🧵
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Reposted by Kyle Tharp
Who Targets Me @whotargets.me · 21/07/2026
Some folks' predictions about what US conservatives might to do TikTok haven't yet come to pass (but nor has ours - that they'd immediately unban paid political ads).
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Reposted by Kyle Tharp
laura olin @lauraolin.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
I thought the Ellisons would immediately skew it but it appears that hasn’t come to pass. Should keep watching the data though.
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Kyle Tharp @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
📊 NEW: Progressives feared that TikTok's new ownership would suppress their views or skew content on the platform to the Right. Data shows that in the 6 months since the company's deal closed, there has been no significant shift in reach or engagement on political content 🧵
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Kyle Tharp @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
💡 FYI, here were the fastest growing partisan-ish political adjacent channels on YouTube last quarter www.chaoticera.news/p/liberals-a...
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Kyle Tharp @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
For twenty years, the party has been locked out of power in the states. Could this year’s midterms change that? www.chaoticera.news/p/with-congr...
chaoticera.news
With Congress on the line, Democrats hope for a state legislative blue wave
For twenty years, the party has been locked out of power in the states. Could this year’s midterms change that?
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Reposted by Kyle Tharp
the Mountain Goats @themountaingoats.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
when it zoomed out I gasped
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Reposted by Kyle Tharp
Eli @elium2.com · 24/06/2026
This is the new “yard signs don’t vote”.
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Kyle Tharp @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Last night's results in #NY12 are inversely related to the number of social media followers the candidates have.
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Reposted by Kyle Tharp
Kyle Tharp @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Jon Ossoff's presidential hype machine is mostly driven by 30 second clips featuring rehearsed lines from perfectly staged rallies. In other words, I'm a Jon Ossoff Rally Truther: www.chaoticera.news/p/i-m-a-jon-...
chaoticera.news
I’m a Jon Ossoff rally truther
The Georgia Senator’s online persona has been shaped by viral rally footage and soaring speeches.
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Kyle Tharp @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Jon Ossoff's presidential hype machine is mostly driven by 30 second clips featuring rehearsed lines from perfectly staged rallies. In other words, I'm a Jon Ossoff Rally Truther: www.chaoticera.news/p/i-m-a-jon-...
chaoticera.news
I’m a Jon Ossoff rally truther
The Georgia Senator’s online persona has been shaped by viral rally footage and soaring speeches.
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Reposted by Kyle Tharp
Marc Elias @marcelias.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Democracy Docket is not on Substack, so it does not qualify for Kyle's excellent list. Sign up now to support the leading digital news platform dedicated to information, analysis and opinion about voting rights and elections in the courts. bit.ly/4qmEiFz
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Reposted by Kyle Tharp
Kyle Tharp @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
NEW: Liberal opinionators and grassroots anti-Trump voices dominate Substack. Is that trend shifting? How much have publications grown over the past year? Are conservatives finally moving to Substack? I've got the data 📊 in this week's newsletter www.chaoticera.news/p/new-data-t...
chaoticera.news
New data: The biggest political & news publications on Substack
Liberal voices and anti-Trump opinion still rule the platform’s politics and news categories. Can conservatives catch up?
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Reposted by Kyle Tharp
Kyle Tharp @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
💡 I built a dashboard categorizing the largest U.S. Politics and News publications on Substack by total subscribers and partisan lean. Check it out: www.chaoticera.news/substack-data
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Kyle Tharp @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
💡 I built a dashboard categorizing the largest U.S. Politics and News publications on Substack by total subscribers and partisan lean. Check it out: www.chaoticera.news/substack-data
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Kyle Tharp @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
NEW: Liberal opinionators and grassroots anti-Trump voices dominate Substack. Is that trend shifting? How much have publications grown over the past year? Are conservatives finally moving to Substack? I've got the data 📊 in this week's newsletter www.chaoticera.news/p/new-data-t...
chaoticera.news
New data: The biggest political & news publications on Substack
Liberal voices and anti-Trump opinion still rule the platform’s politics and news categories. Can conservatives catch up?
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Reposted by Kyle Tharp
Kyle Tharp @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
Was on Offline with @jonfavs.bsky.social this week to talk about everything from political influencer marketing to partisan media! 🇺🇸 🔗 Watch the full ep on YouTube here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEXO...
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Reposted by Kyle Tharp
Crooked Media @crooked.com · 13/06/2026
Right-wing influencers fuel lawmaker’s scrolling habits on social media.
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Kyle Tharp @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
Was on Offline with @jonfavs.bsky.social this week to talk about everything from political influencer marketing to partisan media! 🇺🇸 🔗 Watch the full ep on YouTube here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEXO...
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Reposted by Kyle Tharp
Murshed Zaheed @murshedz.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
Interesting - @repmarktakano.bsky.social wants political influencers include disclosure in their content and I strongly agree with him. PS: @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social please include bluesky link in your great newsletter. Ty.
chaoticera.news
Who's really paying your favorite political creator? This Congressman wants to know.
Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) saw undisclosed political influencer spending in his home state elections, and wants Congress to do something about it.
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Reposted by Kyle Tharp
Kyle Tharp @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
NEW: @repmarktakano.bsky.social saw undisclosed political influencer spending in California's gubernatorial election last week, and wants Congress to do something about it. I spoke with Takano about his P.A.I.D. Act and how Congress + the FEC can start to fix the industry.👇👇👇
chaoticera.news
Who's really paying your favorite political creator? This Congressman wants to know.
Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) saw undisclosed political influencer spending in his home state elections, and wants Congress to do something about it.
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Kyle Tharp @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
NEW: @repmarktakano.bsky.social saw undisclosed political influencer spending in California's gubernatorial election last week, and wants Congress to do something about it. I spoke with Takano about his P.A.I.D. Act and how Congress + the FEC can start to fix the industry.👇👇👇
chaoticera.news
Who's really paying your favorite political creator? This Congressman wants to know.
Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) saw undisclosed political influencer spending in his home state elections, and wants Congress to do something about it.
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Reposted by Kyle Tharp
Carly Evans @carlyevans.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Another fun Kyle collab! Give this one a read!
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Kyle Tharp @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
NEW 📊: Data centers are becoming a kitchen table issue poised to upend the midterms, and content opposing the construction boom is flooding Americans' feeds on social media. Read all about it: www.chaoticera.news/p/the-data-c...
chaoticera.news
The data center backlash crashes into the midterms
Online and off, Americans are pissed about the massive projects in their communities. Are campaigns listening?
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Kyle Tharp @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
NEW: Fox News (and other conservative outlets) were never really a thing on TikTok. But over the past year, the conservative media giant has surged on the platform, adding millions of followers and getting 1B views/month.
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Kyle Tharp @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
💡 The DNC released its half-finished 2024 autopsy today. It's not that helpful. BUT over the past year, various groups and individuals who are probably smarter than the DNC released their own autopsies of what happened in 2024. Here's a thread with all of them. 🧵
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Reposted by Kyle Tharp
Mark Jacob @markjacob.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Kyle Tharp’s newsletter: “One of the biggest vectors of anti-Harris conspiracy theories in 2024 was an anonymous X account called Black Insurrectionist, which turned out to be run by a White guy in Upstate New York. The account had spread fabricated documents …” @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social
chaoticera.news
Everyone's running anonymous political accounts now
Operatives on both sides of the aisle are using anonymous social media brands to boost their preferred candidates, drop opposition research, and amplify messaging.
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Kyle Tharp @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
NEW: As the midterms near, operatives on both sides of the political aisle are using anonymous social media accounts to drop opposition research and amplify messaging. www.chaoticera.news/p/everyone-s...
chaoticera.news
Everyone's running anonymous political accounts now
Operatives on both sides of the aisle are using anonymous social media brands to boost their preferred candidates, drop opposition research, and amplify messaging.
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Reposted by Kyle Tharp
Kyle Tharp @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
"We've lost a whole group of people just like me over the last few elections where they drifted to the right because they felt left behind," Bob Brooks told me. "I think it's time we pull 'em back in." www.chaoticera.news/p/the-two-ca...
chaoticera.news
The two candidates uniting the Democratic Party
What happens when Bernie Sanders and the Blue Dogs agree?
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Kyle Tharp @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
"We've lost a whole group of people just like me over the last few elections where they drifted to the right because they felt left behind," Bob Brooks told me. "I think it's time we pull 'em back in." www.chaoticera.news/p/the-two-ca...
chaoticera.news
The two candidates uniting the Democratic Party
What happens when Bernie Sanders and the Blue Dogs agree?
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Reposted by Kyle Tharp
Kyle Tharp @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
NEW: While warring Democratic factions endlessly rip each other apart online, two midterm candidates have seemingly united the party IRL, scoring endorsements from both Bernie Sanders and the conservative Blue Dogs. www.chaoticera.news/p/the-two-ca...
chaoticera.news
The two candidates uniting the Democratic Party
What happens when Bernie Sanders and the Blue Dogs agree?
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Kyle Tharp @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
NEW: While warring Democratic factions endlessly rip each other apart online, two midterm candidates have seemingly united the party IRL, scoring endorsements from both Bernie Sanders and the conservative Blue Dogs. www.chaoticera.news/p/the-two-ca...
chaoticera.news
The two candidates uniting the Democratic Party
What happens when Bernie Sanders and the Blue Dogs agree?
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Reposted by Kyle Tharp
Katie Harbath @katieharbath.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Everyone's talking about AI in campaigns, but it’s hard to measure. That’s why Amanda Elliott, @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social, @ericwilson.bsky.social and myself are running a survey on how political pros are using AI. If you work in campaigns and politics we need your input! gforms.app/j5nTd6r
gforms.app
AI Use by Campaigns Survey
A survey of campaign professionals, consultants, and political organizations gathering insight into how AI is being used across campaigns and political work today. This survey is anonymous and results...
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Kyle Tharp @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
💡 FYI, here were the 50 most-viewed political adjacent, partisan-leaning YouTube channels last month. (From today's Chaotic Era newsletter)
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Reposted by Kyle Tharp
Campaign Legal Center @campaignlegal.org · 06/05/2026
The Supreme Court has turbocharged the redistricting battles. "What we're really going to see is a state of perpetual redistricting. With each election cycle, if one party benefits, they will take that power and use it," says CLC's Mark Gaber.
chaoticera.news
A state of “perpetual redistricting”
The Supreme Court cleared the way for endless cycles of partisan total war over electoral maps. Here’s what it means for our politics.
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Kyle Tharp @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
"What we're really going to see is a state of perpetual redistricting. With each election cycle, if one party benefits, they will take that power and use it." More on the political fallout from last week's Supreme Court ruling: www.chaoticera.news/p/a-state-of...
chaoticera.news
A state of “perpetual redistricting”
The Supreme Court cleared the way for endless cycles of partisan total war over electoral maps. Here’s what it means for our politics.
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