Last year Jack Schlossberg made waves on social media after becoming Vogue’s political correspondent. His accounts grew enormously and after a long pattern of bizarre and divisive posts, he deactivated all his accounts on February 6.

A few weeks later he was on "The Blueprint with Jen Psaki," where he discussed the importance of social media in politics and his advice for the Democratic party. Then he was back to Instagram and X, once again posting content that combined comedy with current news.

A Controversial Timeline

Prior to the initial deactivation, Jack's content continued to go off the rails and divide fans. At one point he claimed to be the lawyer of Justin Baldoni and made numerous posts defending Baldoni from accusations of misconduct. Later he was posting about Megyn Kelly, and in a TikTok archived by the Daily Mail, he stated “I’m just checking in, starting a dialogue, seeing if you’re okay.… The two genders rule must be tough. None of us know which one you are. So let us know.”

The most polarizing posts of all came from X where Schlossberg wrote “True or False: Usha Vance is way hotter than Jackie O.” It’s important to note that Jackie O is his maternal grandmother, which many confused commenters brought up when pointing out the distasteful nature of the post.

This social media storm was the subject of numerous articles which speculated on the bizarre nature of his posts, with some even claiming that he was single-handedly destroying the Kennedy legacy. He feuded with The Daily Mail, comedian Andrew Schulz, and numerous other conservatives.

The chaos came to a conclusion on February 6 when Schlossberg took to X in a now-deleted post (archived here), writing “I’m sorry to everyone I hurt. I was wrong. I’m deleting all my socials.

Forever. It’s been fun. Thanks anyways everyone.”

Image Credit: The White House via Wikimedia

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The Return

Prior to returning to social media, he appeared on "The Blueprint with Jen Psaki" and explained his thought process behind his posts, stating that it was a deliberate plan.

While the posts might've seemed random, and even erratic at times, Jack asserted that it was intentionally attention-grabbing, figuring that if he could get people talking about his controversies, then he could also get them to pay attention to the serious things he was saying about current events.

His theory is that Democrats aren't good at marketing online and that their lack of relatability could be alienating potential voters. He and Jen discussed how Democrats can sometimes struggle to connect with people due to focusing too much on talking about topics like policies.

Republicans on the other hand connect with Americans by going on podcasts and speaking about casual subjects like football and movies, and in doing so they ingrain themselves in pop culture while being perceived more endearingly. This could in large part be a reflection of the 2024 election where Donald Trump received endorsements from key online figures such as Jake Paul, Bryce Hall, Adin Ross and Joe Rogan, who all brought in support from young men who then went and voted for Trump.

In terms of controversy, Jack also explained that Republicans are better at being unbothered by it and say whatever they feel regardless of the consequences. In doing so they seem more authentic and less like the plastic personas that people imagine when they hear the word 'politician.'

But could this plan work, and could it influence future elections? Typically political platforms have tried to steer away from controversy. 50 years ago First Lady Betty Ford spoke candidly about her opinions on topics like abortion, and while her views caused a media storm, it also had a positive effect – Americans connected with her in ways that they hadn't with previous First Ladies. More recently, the Trump era has shown that being outspoken about your beliefs, no matter how divisive they are, can lead to support among people who perceive this as authenticity.

But Why Does This Matter?

Currently, X is owned by Elon Musk, a staunch supporter of Trump, who uses the platform as an echo chamber for his political beliefs. Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp are owned by Mark Zuckerberg – a previous critic of Trump who recently turned right-wing. In January Zuckerberg announced that Meta and its platforms would no longer have a fact-checking program. So if the main platforms that people use to get their information are being controlled by allies of the President, how could this influence the news that people are consuming?

Social media undeniably plays a large role in how news is shared, and many people rely on social media sites to learn about current events and politics in a way that's quick and accessible. But if social media is being skewed right, Democrats are going to find themselves at a critical crossroads.

In the new age of media sharing and news, combining attention-grabbing short form content along with information on current events is crucial to educate people and raise awareness. While the internet might not have seemed like an important part of politics, recent years have shown that the role it plays in swaying voters and determining the success of candidates is crucial.