It’s been a year since Trump was elected. Democrats still don’t get the internet

After a big loss In 2024, Democrats promised a digital reckoning.

But 12 months after this devastating list of losses, Democratic digital programs are still plagued by the same problems that wiped them out last year. Despite millions of dollars in influencer investments and “lessons learned” memos, party insiders say Democrats remain stuck running social media programs that strive for authenticity but often conflict with the party’s relentless desire to maintain control.

“I can’t, for the life of me, understand why we’re still so hard and moderate on everything when we have nothing to lose for the first time,” says one Democratic digital strategist, who requested anonymity to speak frankly. “All the fascist threats and right-wing control. It’s all here.”

This risk aversion has made it difficult for Democrats to innovate. In June, the Democratic National Committee launched a new show on YouTube called “The Daily Planner.” Ken Martin, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said in a statement: This offer— which is dominating news headlines and interviews with party officials in an attempt to be MSNBC lite — “reinforces our commitment to meeting this moment and innovating the ways we get our message across a new media landscape.”

The show, hosted by DNC Deputy Communications Director Hannah Moldavian, did nothing but turn around 16,000 views Total more than 100 episodes since its launch.

“We are focused on reaching as many people as possible, and we have made significant progress this year in expanding our reach,” a DNC spokesperson told WIRED. “Since January, the Democratic National Committee has seen explosive follower growth on high-traffic platforms like TikTok and Instagram, accumulating more than 3.8 billion impressions across our accounts. We’re building relationships with hundreds of creators so the Democratic Party has a lasting presence in voters’ feeds, transcending interests and backgrounds. We’re investing now in building an innovative digital platform that will continue to grow cycle after cycle.”

But for some Democratic strategists, the daily chart is a symbol of how the party continues to promote less effective digital communications. Since the government shutdown earlier this month, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has hosted a series of highly produced videos that were barely recorded outside of the Washington, D.C., ecosystem. “If you’re not willing to take swings or throw shit at the wall right this minute, when are you going to do it?” says Ravi Mangla, national press secretary for the Working Families Party, a small progressive party already critical of the Democratic National Committee. (Schumer’s Senate office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)

Young Democratic activists say the issue stems from a broader culture of gate-keeping over not just who is allowed to speak on behalf of the party, but also what content emanating from official channels looks like. The people who approve of the content are “not guys and they are not posters,” says the meme curator, creator and digital strategist. “They can’t explain why these things happen [online] It went well. Their “theory of mind” is often fundamentally wrong because they do not deal with the actual doing of it.