Once a target of Musk’s ire, Gen Z creator Kat Abughazaleh is running for Congress

Last year, when Kat Abu Ghazaleh was out of his job as an extremist researcher and video producer in Media Matter, Elon Kasturi personally read the X -withdrawal to celebrate his misfortune.

“Karma is real,” musk DThe

However as Abu Ghazaleh said in a video on Monday that he announced Dissertation For Congress, he is not afraid to stand up to the musk, especially as His Impact on the federal government Growing.

Instead, 26 -year -old Illino has a focus in the ninth district. The current representative, 3 -year -old Democrat Jan Shakovsky was elected to the first Congress, even before the birth.

“I have the idea that I want to push and I have a big one [social media] The platform, “Abu Ghazaleh told TechCrunch.” I felt I didn’t want to wait for anyone to do anything if I could do anything right now. “

Abu Ghazaleh created his online listener through his work in Media Matters, where he became known for making video of Fox News and the mistakes of the dequlings. But when the musk Suit the case In an article on how X was advertised in addition to Nazi supporters, the mounting legal expenses surpassed the non -profit of Abu Ghazaleh and twelve others.

Now an independent social media creator, he has collected half a million followers across the platform for his progressive political content Its largest audience (222,000 followers) ticket.

“There is no reason that you should not be able to carry your accommodation, grocery and healthcare with the rest of the money,” he said in the announcement of his campaign. “Families should have free child care, social protection should be expanded and our ineligible rights should not be dependent on what should be in power.”

His run-in with Abu Ghazaleh Mask did not expect to be related to the broad people. However after more than ten months after the musk celebrates its trim 30,000 federal employees Learn the feeling of losing their jobs because of the billionaire strategy.

“A lot of people in journalism, especially about the beating of this chaos, what a dry run for Trump and other parts of the country,” has been carried out during a kind of trial, “he said. ”

“We knew what’s going to happen … We’re okay we’re okay, but it means that we have the tools to fight and know what is happening and how to handle it.”

A tikkerker has become a political candidate

Though young people have been tihassically liberal, General Z voters Transferred More conservative in last year’s elections. Abu Ghazaleh considers it a product of weak propaganda from the Democrats.

“I think the big problem that Democrats have is their digital strategy, and people like me are for better understanding of people and younger people [of the internet]”He said.” It’s something we grew up. “

Some critics may think that his age is twice as a sword, since he is young enough for a long online footprint. However, Abu Ghazaleh is not worried. As he Wrote A skeptic in X -“I hope you enjoy my middle school One Direction Fan Blog and my cat’s picture.”

In the Trump era – the President literally owns a social media platform where he constantly posts – it is no longer forbidden to show personality online.

“We have a president who posts whatever comes to his mind at any time,” he said. “I think that we are 13 years old as well as good like.”

Giving his history with musk, he is not planning to center X in his digital strategy. On all other social media platforms, Abu Ghazaleh gives priority to Bluski, where its surroundings are 154,000 FollowersThe

For example, on Monday, he posted the announcement of his campaign exclusively in Bluesky for an hour and a half before going to the other platform.

“I really like blusky’s principles in a lot of things,” he said. “They are hiring more moderators, and many other places are not moderating, or shooting the moderator.”

For example, meta, Its Content Adding Principles Overhuld In January, its third-party fact-checking program finished.

Bluski has grown more than 5 million users, even former President Barack Obama Joined on the platform On the weekend. However, its population is still relatively smaller than the long -time social giants like Instagram or X.

Regardless, Abu Ghazaleh’s strategy has been proved successful so far. The first seven hours of his promotion, he raised $ 100,000 with an average of $ 45.

“We have received the highest grants on social media outside of any other platform from Bluusky,” Abu Ghazaleh told TechCrunch.

Abu Ghazaleh is also enthusiastic about the open source nature of Blueuski. He is trying to echo the transparency on his YouTube channel, where he is planning to share videos enrolled in his promotion experience.

“I am truly transparent about how to run in the office, because I think it’s like this black hole that seems much more difficult than it,” he said.

Even if he cannot win a seat in the Congress, he hopes that his openness about this process will inspire other General Z candidates to run.

“If this campaign goes as per plan I will be the youngest woman in the Congress,” she said. “But I think that if one of our other candidates came younger than me, it would be great.”