iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Kyle Tharp @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

👀 NEW: In Q3 2025, right-wing YouTuber Benny Johnson gained over 570,000 new subscribers. During the same period this year, he net just 10,000 new subs. Is the partisan YouTube boom finally cooling off? www.chaoticera.news/p/is-the-par...

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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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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 · 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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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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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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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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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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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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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

TL;DR: the platform's political and news ecosystem looks about the same as it did before the sale. The creators winning on TikTok are still winning the old-fashioned way, by flooding the zone with content.

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Kyle Tharp @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

“[Our] data shows that, in aggregate, TikTok views from left-leaning accounts have been remarkably steady over the last six months,” @ecoffingould.bsky.social told me.

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Kyle Tharp @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

I analyzed monthly total views, and engagement for 194 major political and news accounts across the ideological spectrum. There has been no significant shift in reach or interactions along ideological lines. Some lib accounts were up, others were down. Same goes for the Right.

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Kyle Tharp @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

When news broke that some in TikTok's new ownership group would have ties to Trump-world, progressives sounded the alarm. "I would turn Trump allies' dreams of control into reality," some argued.

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Kyle Tharp @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

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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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the Mountain Goats @themountaingoats.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

when it zoomed out I gasped

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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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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

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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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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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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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

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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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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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

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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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Kyle Tharp @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

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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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

Anyway, my newsletter is meant to poke at some of the lingering questions and provide data and context to help drive the future of the party. Subscribe here: www.chaoticera.news

chaoticera.news

Home | Chaotic Era

A newsletter about politics, media, and online influence in Democracy’s chaotic era. Written by Kyle Tharp.

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Kyle Tharp @kylewilsontharp.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Together, these are like 1,000 pages of insights for anyone wanting to understand what went wrong with Democrats' big loss in 2024. None of them (?) say probably the most important point: Kamala Harris is a bad politician, and that was the number one reason why she lost.

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