Speaking Up for Their Voice: Influencers’ Responses to Political Propaganda

 With social media continuously reaching more people, political propaganda has spread to these platforms.

When a political figure uses an artist’s music to spread hateful propaganda, the artist has a choice: speak up or stay silent. With social media reaching more and more people every day, political campaigns on both sides of the aisle have taken to these platforms to appeal to audiences, especially young voters. 

TikTok and Instagram posts are often paired with a trending song or audio, but the message being spread isn’t always supported by the artist whose voice is being used to boost engagement.

There have been several notable instances of artists responding to the use of their music on social media accounts affiliated with Trump and his administration. After the 2024 election, the Team Trump TikTok account posted about Trump’s reelection using Olivia Rodrigo’s song “deja vu.” 

Rodrigo objected to the post, and the song was subsequently removed from the video. Her music was used again in 2025 in an Instagram video about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deportations set to “all-american b*tch.”

“Don’t ever use my songs to promote your racist, hateful propaganda,” Rodrigo said.

Rodrigo sent a message to audiences that artists can speak up if their music is being used to promote beliefs they don’t align themselves with. Other artists have responded similarly to their music being used by the Trump administration. Noah Kahan, Sabrina Carpenter, Ariana Grande and Zara Larsson are just a few mainstream artists who also have spoken up. 

Recently, TikTok user Angelo David, who is known for his comedic childhood home videos, responded to the use of his viral audio in a video about Trump’s plans to rename landmarks around the country. He called out Trump’s social media team for using his audio for what he described as its own personal gain. 

The audio came from one of David’s childhood videos.

The video features “a young gay boy who was supported and raised with integrity and respect, all things that your administration lacks,” David said in a comment.

David’s comment has since been deleted from the post.

Some people have expressed that they don’t believe David has a large enough presence to be making such a bold statement to the president. However, David is showing other influencers and artists that they don’t need millions of followers standing behind them to speak out against injustice. 

It is hypocritical for an administration that does not support the LGBTQ+ community to use the audio of a young queer person. Someone has to be the person to speak up in instances such as these and David took it upon himself to be that person. 

When artists and influencers speak out against hateful propaganda, they spread a message of personal advocacy. They also show that speaking up for those put in vulnerable positions by Trump’s agenda is worth the risk of losing fans who support Trump and the income those fans bring. 

The silence of other artists, including Taylor Swift, in response to Trump’s social media team using their music can be interpreted as support. Passively allowing themselves to be associated with such extreme acts of hate and discrimination can have the very effect they may have been trying to avoid: alienating fans.

Social media is used by political parties to spread propaganda to young, impressionable audiences and new voters. Many people fear sharing opposing beliefs with authority figures or challenging the opinion of the majority, but seeing a celebrity they admire use their status to fight injustice encourages them to proudly use their voice as well.