Kyle Tharp
@kylewilsontharp.bsky.social
Writer & researcher | Author of Chaotic Era, a new newsletter about politics, media, and online influence | 15x ultramarathoner | Subscribe: www.chaoticera.news
Newsom's online rise really took off around a key moment in early June, when he told the Trump administration to arrest him during a MSNBC hit.
"I remember the moment that it happened," one progressive YouTuber told me. "I posted a video about it...and immediately it exploded."
"I remember the moment that it happened," one progressive YouTuber told me. "I posted a video about it...and immediately it exploded."
November 12, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Newsom's online rise really took off around a key moment in early June, when he told the Trump administration to arrest him during a MSNBC hit.
"I remember the moment that it happened," one progressive YouTuber told me. "I posted a video about it...and immediately it exploded."
"I remember the moment that it happened," one progressive YouTuber told me. "I posted a video about it...and immediately it exploded."
Even on TikTok, Gavin Newsom’s owned content has received more views and engagement than that of Mamdani, who has been widely heralded as a social media savant.
November 12, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Even on TikTok, Gavin Newsom’s owned content has received more views and engagement than that of Mamdani, who has been widely heralded as a social media savant.
Newsom's online follower growth this year has outpaced that of every other Democratic politician in America, including high-profile progressive stars such as Zohran Mamdani, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Bernie Sanders.
November 12, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Newsom's online follower growth this year has outpaced that of every other Democratic politician in America, including high-profile progressive stars such as Zohran Mamdani, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Bernie Sanders.
Happy Election Day.
Here's a chart showing Zohran Mamdani's explosive growth in online following in 2025 - from less than 60,000 followers at the start of the year to 7 million today.
Here's a chart showing Zohran Mamdani's explosive growth in online following in 2025 - from less than 60,000 followers at the start of the year to 7 million today.
November 4, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Happy Election Day.
Here's a chart showing Zohran Mamdani's explosive growth in online following in 2025 - from less than 60,000 followers at the start of the year to 7 million today.
Here's a chart showing Zohran Mamdani's explosive growth in online following in 2025 - from less than 60,000 followers at the start of the year to 7 million today.
A man in Tennessee has been in jail for over a month because he shared this meme on Facebook following Charlie Kirk’s death.
Insanity.
Insanity.
October 29, 2025 at 2:34 PM
A man in Tennessee has been in jail for over a month because he shared this meme on Facebook following Charlie Kirk’s death.
Insanity.
Insanity.
Ballotpedia has always gone to great lengths to brand itself as “neutral,” “unbiased,” and “nonpartisan,” positioning its election data and candidate profiles as civic education for all Americans. But its funding history tells a much more complicated story.
October 22, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Ballotpedia has always gone to great lengths to brand itself as “neutral,” “unbiased,” and “nonpartisan,” positioning its election data and candidate profiles as civic education for all Americans. But its funding history tells a much more complicated story.
(updated) 📉 New in Chaotic Era today: The fastest-growing political channels on YouTube in Q3.
Rising on the Right 🔴⬆️: Candace Owens, Benny Johnson, Tucker Carlson
Rising on the Left 🔵⬆️: More Perfect Union, Meidas, I've Had It, Keith Edwards
Subscribe for the full report 👇
Rising on the Right 🔴⬆️: Candace Owens, Benny Johnson, Tucker Carlson
Rising on the Left 🔵⬆️: More Perfect Union, Meidas, I've Had It, Keith Edwards
Subscribe for the full report 👇
October 9, 2025 at 4:33 PM
(updated) 📉 New in Chaotic Era today: The fastest-growing political channels on YouTube in Q3.
Rising on the Right 🔴⬆️: Candace Owens, Benny Johnson, Tucker Carlson
Rising on the Left 🔵⬆️: More Perfect Union, Meidas, I've Had It, Keith Edwards
Subscribe for the full report 👇
Rising on the Right 🔴⬆️: Candace Owens, Benny Johnson, Tucker Carlson
Rising on the Left 🔵⬆️: More Perfect Union, Meidas, I've Had It, Keith Edwards
Subscribe for the full report 👇
NEW: If the TikTok deal goes through and the app comes under American ownership, will Republican politicians finally join in large numbers?
Currently, the top politics and news accounts on the platform are overwhelmingly left-leaning or non-partisan voices...
Currently, the top politics and news accounts on the platform are overwhelmingly left-leaning or non-partisan voices...
September 30, 2025 at 2:54 PM
NEW: If the TikTok deal goes through and the app comes under American ownership, will Republican politicians finally join in large numbers?
Currently, the top politics and news accounts on the platform are overwhelmingly left-leaning or non-partisan voices...
Currently, the top politics and news accounts on the platform are overwhelmingly left-leaning or non-partisan voices...
↗️ RISING: Trish Regan, Shawn Ryan, Hawk, Brian Tyler Cohen
📉 FALLING: Brett Cooper, Matt Walsh, Sam Seder
These are the political voices winning YouTube right now:
www.chaoticera.news/p/the-new-po...
📉 FALLING: Brett Cooper, Matt Walsh, Sam Seder
These are the political voices winning YouTube right now:
www.chaoticera.news/p/the-new-po...
September 12, 2025 at 5:08 PM
↗️ RISING: Trish Regan, Shawn Ryan, Hawk, Brian Tyler Cohen
📉 FALLING: Brett Cooper, Matt Walsh, Sam Seder
These are the political voices winning YouTube right now:
www.chaoticera.news/p/the-new-po...
📉 FALLING: Brett Cooper, Matt Walsh, Sam Seder
These are the political voices winning YouTube right now:
www.chaoticera.news/p/the-new-po...
New in today's newsletter, a snapshot 📸 of the top political-adjacent podcasts in the U.S this week 👇
[partisan lean is obviously subjective, don't come at me]
[partisan lean is obviously subjective, don't come at me]
August 27, 2025 at 1:33 PM
New in today's newsletter, a snapshot 📸 of the top political-adjacent podcasts in the U.S this week 👇
[partisan lean is obviously subjective, don't come at me]
[partisan lean is obviously subjective, don't come at me]
Something noteworthy about these scruffy Dem populist candidates (Platner, Sage, Osborn, El Sayed) they all have very detailed policy platforms.
Meanwhile the DSCC's favorites - Cooper, Pappas, Stevens, Brown, Ossoff - don't have a single issue or policy page on their websites
Meanwhile the DSCC's favorites - Cooper, Pappas, Stevens, Brown, Ossoff - don't have a single issue or policy page on their websites
August 20, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Something noteworthy about these scruffy Dem populist candidates (Platner, Sage, Osborn, El Sayed) they all have very detailed policy platforms.
Meanwhile the DSCC's favorites - Cooper, Pappas, Stevens, Brown, Ossoff - don't have a single issue or policy page on their websites
Meanwhile the DSCC's favorites - Cooper, Pappas, Stevens, Brown, Ossoff - don't have a single issue or policy page on their websites
Cruz, Crenshaw, and Newsom have built successful podcast audiences, but most politicians' podcasts get only a few hundred listens per episode, according to data from Podscribe
August 13, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Cruz, Crenshaw, and Newsom have built successful podcast audiences, but most politicians' podcasts get only a few hundred listens per episode, according to data from Podscribe
“For every dollar a grandmother in Iowa donates believing she's saving democracy, 98 cents goes to consultants and operational costs. Just pennies reach actual campaigns.”
data4democracy.substack.com/p/the-mother...
data4democracy.substack.com/p/the-mother...
August 3, 2025 at 2:37 PM
“For every dollar a grandmother in Iowa donates believing she's saving democracy, 98 cents goes to consultants and operational costs. Just pennies reach actual campaigns.”
data4democracy.substack.com/p/the-mother...
data4democracy.substack.com/p/the-mother...
This week's unsolved mystery:
How did right-wing YouTuber Benny Johnson grow by +2.2 million YouTube subscribers in Q2, dwarfing the growth of every other top political channel?
How did right-wing YouTuber Benny Johnson grow by +2.2 million YouTube subscribers in Q2, dwarfing the growth of every other top political channel?
July 24, 2025 at 7:33 PM
This week's unsolved mystery:
How did right-wing YouTuber Benny Johnson grow by +2.2 million YouTube subscribers in Q2, dwarfing the growth of every other top political channel?
How did right-wing YouTuber Benny Johnson grow by +2.2 million YouTube subscribers in Q2, dwarfing the growth of every other top political channel?
Wild to be named to the inaugural list of "Top 50 Creator-Model Journalists" 🔥🏆 alongside so many writers I read every day.
🔗 Check out the full list here: projectc.biz/top50creator...
🔗 Check out the full list here: projectc.biz/top50creator...
July 24, 2025 at 12:36 PM
Wild to be named to the inaugural list of "Top 50 Creator-Model Journalists" 🔥🏆 alongside so many writers I read every day.
🔗 Check out the full list here: projectc.biz/top50creator...
🔗 Check out the full list here: projectc.biz/top50creator...
ICYMI: New Nielsen Gauge data shows broadcast television viewing continues to evaporate, dropping to just 18.5% of TV watchers last month. 👇
July 15, 2025 at 2:54 PM
ICYMI: New Nielsen Gauge data shows broadcast television viewing continues to evaporate, dropping to just 18.5% of TV watchers last month. 👇
‼️ Chaotic Era, my newsletter about politics & media, just passed 12,000 subscribers, while keeping that open rate insanely high at +70%.
The last 1k subs were kind of a slog, but excited to keep growing. Thanks to the 3,000 of you with a perfect 100% open rate 😉 cc: @beehiiv.com
The last 1k subs were kind of a slog, but excited to keep growing. Thanks to the 3,000 of you with a perfect 100% open rate 😉 cc: @beehiiv.com
July 15, 2025 at 2:40 PM
‼️ Chaotic Era, my newsletter about politics & media, just passed 12,000 subscribers, while keeping that open rate insanely high at +70%.
The last 1k subs were kind of a slog, but excited to keep growing. Thanks to the 3,000 of you with a perfect 100% open rate 😉 cc: @beehiiv.com
The last 1k subs were kind of a slog, but excited to keep growing. Thanks to the 3,000 of you with a perfect 100% open rate 😉 cc: @beehiiv.com
Here are the top 100 brands & creators that share U.S. news on TikTok with some regularity, ranked by lifetime post likes
July 14, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Here are the top 100 brands & creators that share U.S. news on TikTok with some regularity, ranked by lifetime post likes
“Trans people are people, and they deserve to have respect and protection under the law," Gov. Whitmer said on viral TikTok show Gaydar. "All the crap coming out of DC makes everyone less safe, and its wrong.”
🔗 www.chaoticera.news/p/opinion-zo...
🔗 www.chaoticera.news/p/opinion-zo...
July 1, 2025 at 2:27 PM
“Trans people are people, and they deserve to have respect and protection under the law," Gov. Whitmer said on viral TikTok show Gaydar. "All the crap coming out of DC makes everyone less safe, and its wrong.”
🔗 www.chaoticera.news/p/opinion-zo...
🔗 www.chaoticera.news/p/opinion-zo...
New from me: 81 of the top 100 U.S. Politics bestsellers on Substack are liberal leaning or progressive. Have liberals finally found their answer to Musk's X?
🔗 www.chaoticera.news/p/on-substac...
🔗 www.chaoticera.news/p/on-substac...
June 25, 2025 at 12:12 PM
New from me: 81 of the top 100 U.S. Politics bestsellers on Substack are liberal leaning or progressive. Have liberals finally found their answer to Musk's X?
🔗 www.chaoticera.news/p/on-substac...
🔗 www.chaoticera.news/p/on-substac...
Two new reports out this week showed significant shifts in Americans' media consumption habits.
Wrote about that + more for subscribers of Chaotic Era👇
🔗 www.chaoticera.news/p/coming-soo...
Wrote about that + more for subscribers of Chaotic Era👇
🔗 www.chaoticera.news/p/coming-soo...
June 19, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Two new reports out this week showed significant shifts in Americans' media consumption habits.
Wrote about that + more for subscribers of Chaotic Era👇
🔗 www.chaoticera.news/p/coming-soo...
Wrote about that + more for subscribers of Chaotic Era👇
🔗 www.chaoticera.news/p/coming-soo...
🎙️ FYI, here's a snapshot of the top political podcasts in the United States as of this week:
June 4, 2025 at 3:44 PM
🎙️ FYI, here's a snapshot of the top political podcasts in the United States as of this week:
👀 This week's newsletter was listed in @politico.com’s must-read opinion pieces of the week.
Read for yourself ICYMI: www.chaoticera.news/p/is-the-age...
Read for yourself ICYMI: www.chaoticera.news/p/is-the-age...
June 1, 2025 at 8:26 PM
👀 This week's newsletter was listed in @politico.com’s must-read opinion pieces of the week.
Read for yourself ICYMI: www.chaoticera.news/p/is-the-age...
Read for yourself ICYMI: www.chaoticera.news/p/is-the-age...
Once dominant on Facebook, Shapiro's audience has actually *decreased* on the platform in 2025, despite algorithm changes aimed at boosting political content.
May 29, 2025 at 12:47 PM
Once dominant on Facebook, Shapiro's audience has actually *decreased* on the platform in 2025, despite algorithm changes aimed at boosting political content.