Vivek Ramaswamy speaks during AmericaFest, the first Turning Point USA summit since the death of Charlie Kirk, in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. December 19, 2025. REUTERS/Caitlin O'Hara
Washington, DC [US], January 6 (ANI): As the new year begins, many people across the world make resolutions, though some struggle to keep them while others persevere. US Ohio governor candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has chosen an unconventional resolution, announcing his decision to step away from social media in 2026.
In an opinion piece published in The Wall Street Journal, Ramaswamy said he would leave social media platforms as part of his New Year’s resolution. “I plan to become a social media teetotaler in 2026. On New Year’s Eve, I deleted X and Instagram from my phone,” he wrote.
Ramaswamy said his campaign team would continue to use social media on his behalf, while he would spend more time engaging directly with voters. He said the move would make him “happier” and allow for more meaningful interaction.
“There’s a fine line between using the internet to distribute your message and inadvertently allowing constant internet feedback to alter your message. That isn’t using social media; it’s letting social media use you,” Ramaswamy wrote.
He explained that social media was originally intended to connect leaders with voters by offering real-time feedback, but argued that modern platforms are increasingly skewed due to the extensive use of bots. He said algorithms often reinforce a single viewpoint, distancing leaders from the broader electorate.
“Social media offers a tempting alternative: free, abundant real-time feedback. It creates the impression that you’re hearing directly from ‘the people’ and responding in kind,” he wrote. “Modern social media is increasingly disconnected from the electorate. The messages you’re most likely to see are the most negative and bombastic, because they’re most likely to receive rapid likes and reposts, and that drives revenue for content creators.”
Ramaswamy cautioned against mistaking online commentary for real-world opinion, warning that such distortion can lead to polarization and poor decision-making. “When those in power mistake online commentary for real-world consensus, they make decisions based on a distorted picture of what citizens really want,” he said.
He cited reports indicating coordinated online activity, including investigations suggesting that bots amplified false claims that the assassination attempt on President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, was staged. He also referenced analysis showing unusually rapid and concentrated engagement linked to extremist accounts.
Drawing from personal experience, Ramaswamy said he faced backlash on social media after remarks made at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest conference in December, where he said the United States is defined by ideals rather than shared bloodlines. Despite the online reaction, he said the live audience of more than 20,000 people gave him a standing ovation.
Addressing recent waves of racial slurs directed at him because of his Indian heritage, Ramaswamy said the online hostility did not reflect his experiences on the campaign trail. “In 2025, I saw a spate of shocking racial slurs and worse on social media,” he wrote. “Yet that same year I visited tens of thousands of voters across all of Ohio’s 88 counties, and I didn’t hear a single bigoted remark from an Ohio voter the entire year.”
He clarified that his decision was not intended to discourage others from using social media, but to caution leaders against relying on it as a real-time gauge of public opinion, which he described as “looking through a broken mirror.”
On a lighter note, Ramaswamy acknowledged that the resolution might not last. “If this one is anything like my previous resolutions, I might be back to scrolling X by March,” he wrote. He also invited fellow Republicans to join him, suggesting it could become an “extra X-factor” in securing victories in 2026.
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