US media falling to Trump's allies as democracy crumbles
The US media landscape has undergone a seismic shift since Donald Trump returned to the presidency. The Trump administration, led by his close friends and allies, Larry Ellison and David Ellison, has successfully bought off major media outlets. This process is often referred to as "Orbánisation", inspired by Hungary's authoritarian leader Viktor Orbán.
In August, David Ellison's Skydance Media acquired Paramount Global with financial support from his father, Larry Ellison. This acquisition brought control of CBS News, one of the US's "big three" networks, under their umbrella. The network has faced severe backlash since Trump demanded CBS lose its broadcasting license over alleged political bias and even sued the network over what he called a flattering edit of Kamala Harris's 60 Minutes interview.
The new owners have brought in pro-Trump officials to monitor "bias" on the network. Bari Weiss, a former Democrat turned anti-woke crusader, was made editor-in-chief, further cementing the administration's grip on mainstream media.
Meanwhile, Trump officials are briefing that they are also in favour of Paramount Skydance buying Warner Bros Discovery, the parent company of HBO and CNN. The pro-Trump newspaper New York Post states that rival bidders will face "regulatory hurdles" with WBD's CEO forced to consider the Trump administration's willingness to crack down on what it sees as rampant leftwing bias across the mainstream media.
Larry Ellison also leads a group of investors set to take over TikTok's US operations, with other partners reportedly including Rupert Murdoch and Abu Dhabi's government-owned investment company. Ellison is a fervent supporter of Israel and has previously donated millions to its military through the non-profit Friends of the Israel Defense Forces.
The acquisition of these media outlets marks a significant blow to American democracy. The Trump administration has threatened Meta owner Mark Zuckerberg with "spend the rest of his life in prison" if he crosses him, effectively silencing his critics on social media. The administration has also taken steps to silence liberal comedians and journalists, such as suspending Jimmy Kimmel's ABC show after the pro-Trump chair of the Federal Communications Commission demanded action.
Furthermore, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting – long deemed hostile by Trump – has been defunded and shut down. US media outlets have been stripped of 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.
The administration has also deployed the national guard to Democratic strongholds, centralised control over elections, and launched new gerrymandering offensives. Republicans have demanded the denaturalisation and deportation of socialist New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, as Trump threatens to defund the city if he wins.
The erosion of democracy in the US has been decades in the making. A 2014 academic study found that the political system is rigged in favour of what the economic elites want. However, due to the US's history of checks and balances, some believed it could never succumb to tyranny.
However, such complacency has collided with brutal reality. In just nine months, the US has been dragged towards an authoritarian abyss. The warning signs are clear: Trump has 39 months left in office, and it is essential for Americans to take action before democracy crumbles further.
The US media landscape has undergone a seismic shift since Donald Trump returned to the presidency. The Trump administration, led by his close friends and allies, Larry Ellison and David Ellison, has successfully bought off major media outlets. This process is often referred to as "Orbánisation", inspired by Hungary's authoritarian leader Viktor Orbán.
In August, David Ellison's Skydance Media acquired Paramount Global with financial support from his father, Larry Ellison. This acquisition brought control of CBS News, one of the US's "big three" networks, under their umbrella. The network has faced severe backlash since Trump demanded CBS lose its broadcasting license over alleged political bias and even sued the network over what he called a flattering edit of Kamala Harris's 60 Minutes interview.
The new owners have brought in pro-Trump officials to monitor "bias" on the network. Bari Weiss, a former Democrat turned anti-woke crusader, was made editor-in-chief, further cementing the administration's grip on mainstream media.
Meanwhile, Trump officials are briefing that they are also in favour of Paramount Skydance buying Warner Bros Discovery, the parent company of HBO and CNN. The pro-Trump newspaper New York Post states that rival bidders will face "regulatory hurdles" with WBD's CEO forced to consider the Trump administration's willingness to crack down on what it sees as rampant leftwing bias across the mainstream media.
Larry Ellison also leads a group of investors set to take over TikTok's US operations, with other partners reportedly including Rupert Murdoch and Abu Dhabi's government-owned investment company. Ellison is a fervent supporter of Israel and has previously donated millions to its military through the non-profit Friends of the Israel Defense Forces.
The acquisition of these media outlets marks a significant blow to American democracy. The Trump administration has threatened Meta owner Mark Zuckerberg with "spend the rest of his life in prison" if he crosses him, effectively silencing his critics on social media. The administration has also taken steps to silence liberal comedians and journalists, such as suspending Jimmy Kimmel's ABC show after the pro-Trump chair of the Federal Communications Commission demanded action.
Furthermore, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting – long deemed hostile by Trump – has been defunded and shut down. US media outlets have been stripped of 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.
The administration has also deployed the national guard to Democratic strongholds, centralised control over elections, and launched new gerrymandering offensives. Republicans have demanded the denaturalisation and deportation of socialist New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, as Trump threatens to defund the city if he wins.
The erosion of democracy in the US has been decades in the making. A 2014 academic study found that the political system is rigged in favour of what the economic elites want. However, due to the US's history of checks and balances, some believed it could never succumb to tyranny.
However, such complacency has collided with brutal reality. In just nine months, the US has been dragged towards an authoritarian abyss. The warning signs are clear: Trump has 39 months left in office, and it is essential for Americans to take action before democracy crumbles further.
Freedom of the press is under attack 
. The fact that major media outlets have fallen into the hands of those with a vested interest in silencing dissenting voices is a stark reminder that the power of the pen can be a double-edged sword 
. As the saying goes, "The newspaper that prints lies today will kill tomorrow." - Walter Lippmann 
it's like they're intentionally trying to mess up the format of free speech 
. News organizations should be independent and fact-based, not some pro-Trump propaganda mill 
...
. I mean, I've seen some pretty wild stuff on social media lately, but this is on a whole different level.
. It's like they're being slowly strangled by the Trump admin's allies. I mean, who needs a free press when you've got ' biased' editors-in-chief and pro-Trump owners breathing down their necks? 
trump and his crew are dismantling the system from within and we need to wake up and take action before it's too late.
You don't have to wait for someone else to make a difference, every single one of us has the power to shape our future. We should be more vigilant and proactive about protecting our democracy before it's too late. The fact that some major media outlets are falling under Trump's control is alarming and we need to take action now to counter this trend 
but with trump's buddies buying off major media outlets like skydance and paramount global, it's getting harder to find reliable news 
we need to stay vigilant and support independent journalism 
or else we risk losing our democracy to a cult of personality 
Like, Viktor Orbán's Hungary did it first, but now the US is following suit. It's chilling to think that we might be losing our democratic values and freedom of speech.
. We gotta stay vigilant and make our voices heard. We can't let Trump and his crew control the narrative – we're the ones who need to take back our democracy! 
like Larry Ellison and his dad are besties with Trump and now they own CBS News what's next? they're gonna take over all the other news channels too 
and then we'll be living in a total propaganda bubble 
it's like, come on guys can't you see this is all about consolidating power and control 
meanwhile, we're just sitting here twiddling our thumbs waiting for democracy to crumble 
. And it's not just that - they're silencing critics on social media, censoring liberal comedians and journalists, and even threatening people like Mark Zuckerberg with prison time 
. It's getting scary fast 
. Anyway, I was reading this article about the US media landscape and it made me think, what's the deal with TikTok? Larry Ellison leading a group of investors to take over its US operations? 
. And have you noticed how much tech companies are investing in Israel lately? It's like they're trying to make up for something... or maybe just making friends 
. What do you think about all this? Should we be worried about democracy? 
. we need some serious pushback from all sides of the aisle to restore the checks and balances system. otherwise, who knows what kind of dystopian future we'll be living in? 
. I mean, come on, buying off major outlets and installing anti-woke editors like Bari Weiss is just plain shady 
. And don't even get me started on the whole Meta thing 
. I mean, what's next? Silencing liberal comedians and journalists? 
. and have you seen the way they're treating liberal comedians and journalists? suspending jimmy kimmel's show because of some pro-trump chair at the FCC? that's straight-up censorship