From CBS to TikTok, US media are falling to Trump’s allies. This is how democracy crumbles | Owen Jones

<p>We’re watching the Orbánisation of the US – and as in Hungary, control of the media is key to consolidating power</p><p>Democracy may be dying in the US. Whether the patient receives emergency treatment in time will determine whether the condition becomes terminal. Before Donald Trump’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jan/07/donald-trump-control-us-media-viktor-orban-hungary-nick-clegg-meta-x">return to the presidency</a>, I warned of “Orbánisation” – in reference to Hungary’s authoritarian leader Viktor Orbán. There, democracy was not extinguished by firing squads or the mass imprisonment of dissidents, but by slow attrition. The electoral system was warped, civil society was targeted and pro-Orbán moguls quietly absorbed the media.</p><p>Nine months on, and Orbánisation is in full bloom across the Atlantic. Billionaire Larry Ellison, the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/11/who-is-larry-ellison-richest-person-oracle">Oracle co-founder</a>, and his filmmaker son, David, have become blunt instruments in this process.<a href="https://www.mediaite.com/politics/trump-boasts-the-new-owners-of-cbs-are-friends-of-mine-and-swipes-at-norah-odonnell/"> Trump boasts</a> they are “friends of mine – they’re big supporters of mine”. Larry Ellison, second only to Elon Musk as the world’s richest man, has <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/sports/college-football/first-helped-bankroll-presidential-campaign-now-college-football-progr-rcna187680">poured tens of millions</a> into Republican coffers. Shortly after the 2020 election, he joined a call that discussed <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/05/20/larry-ellison-oracle-trump-election-challenges/">challenging the legitimacy</a> of the vote. His son, David, has a history of backing Democrats – but at one time, so did Trump, his da