Bison Coats at The Internet's Inauguration

Issue #309 | Jan. 23, 2025

This week, I was in DC for both the People’s March and the Inauguration, and it felt like stepping into a parallel universe compared to the last time. Eight years ago, the atmosphere at Trump’s first inauguration was dark and heavy, even for those who had gotten what they wanted.

I remember going to cover the event for Vox at the time, and the air seemed thick with unease, a collective awareness of the stigma surrounding the event. This time? That cloud was gone.

“The vibe shift is complete,” one man told me as he waited in line for the Liberty Ball, dressed in a full bison fur coat with steel bullet buttons. The coast, he said, was made from an animal he killed with his bare hands.

He wasn’t just talking about aesthetics; he was describing the day’s energy. “It’s so much more positive now,” he said. “MAGA has grown: it’s more fun, more diverse, more everything.”

He wasn’t wrong. In 2017, the crowd was predictable: older, mostly white attendees from red states, with a sprinkling of families. This year felt entirely different. Sure, I met people from Louisiana and North Dakota, but I also was surprised to meet Trump supporters from Los Angeles and Maine.

Young men, in particular, made up a striking portion of the demographic, far more than I’d ever seen at a Trump event.

This was no accident—targeting the young male vote was a calculated move. Trump’s campaign courted popular online personalities with enormous male audiences by going on podcasts with Joe Rogan and Logan Paul, both of which also received prime seating to the Inauguration.

The president appealed to the Manosphere early on. Now, Trump has fully embraced it, even using his first day in office to pardon members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. Meanwhile, tech giants are falling in line, stripping away fact-checking and guardrails that once curbed hate speech to cater to this particular demographic.

While it may have been illegal to say that men should grab women by the p*ssy, it’s now totally allowed. Saying something like “grab women by the p*ssy” would have once violated platform policies. Now, it’s wholly permissible and amplifiable.

This strategy isn’t just playing to the fringes; it’s creating a new kind of normal. While progressive friends had urged me to pack mace and stay vigilant, I moved through a crowd that was jubilant, enthusiastic, and surprisingly welcoming.

As a white woman, I carry immense privilege in these spaces, often assumed to be “one of them.” Even so, I was struck by the rainbow of diversity in the crowd. Black men, Muslim women in veils, and what felt like entire extended families. The crowd didn’t feel fringe—it felt normal.

Not just normal…. but cool?

READ THE FULL STORY

– Liz Plank, Passionfruit Contributor

PLATFORMS

Twitch CEO Opens Up About ‘Highly Subjective’ Moderation

‘You have a lot of people who get it wrong.’

By Charlotte Colombo, Passionfruit Contributor

→ READ THE FULL STORY

Be Your Biggest Stan, Make Your Own Stanley

Your logo, your face, your name, your dog…pretty much anything you can think of can go on the side of a Stanley. Nothing says “professional” like slurping out of a branded mug on stream, it’s like 90% of what makes TV talk shows work (think about it, it’s true). Give Stanley Create a try and customize your Stanley for free.

Get your Stanley

IN THE BIZ

Instagram is offering creators cash bonuses to start posting Reels.
The threat of TikTok’s shutdown lead to a wave of confessions from creators.
Substack introduced a $20M funding guarantee to attract influencers.
Livestream app Favorited announced its $1.3 million pre-seed funding round.

PERSONALITIES

Is MrBeast Buying TikTok?

More importantly, should he?

By Steven Asarch, Passionfruit Contributor

READ THE FULL STORY →

PLATFORMS

Three Major Apps Roll Out Vertical Video Feeds

Users now have more vertical video feeds to choose from.

By Charlotte Colombo, Passionfruit Contributor

READ THE FULL STORY →

UPCOMING EVENTS

ANA Creator Marketing Conference is Jan. 29-30 in Santa Monica, California.
Creator Economy Live is Feb. 4-5 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
SXSW Conference is Mar. 7-11 in Austin, Texas.
the platform is Mar. 21 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

LET’S CONNECT

In light of TikTok’s uncertain future, Meta giving up on facts and X devolving into a hub for misinformation and hate speech — check us out on Bluesky.