Angie Gola-Ebue, NDA’s new regular columnist, is the Global Vice President of Advertising and Partnerships at HER, the dating and social app for LGBTQIA+ communities. She previously held key leadership roles, including Vice President of Regional Sales at Tinder and has been recognised as one of Campaign Magazine’s “40 Over 40” in 2023 for her contributions to the advertising industry.
As with every new year, 2025 brings a fresh wave of resolutions, opportunities, challenges, and for some, gym goals that might not last till April. However, what many didn’t have on their Bingo card was the deepening intersection of politics and social media and how it would shape our new year.
This new reality forces marginalised communities to reconsider how we interact and navigate the world around us.
In recent years, conversations about loneliness have become more prevalent. More than ever, we need community and as the world continues to shift online, our communities increasingly form around shared interests, passions, and identities on social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Snapchat, and forums like Reddit and Quora. These platforms have become essential spaces for connection and self-expression for people seeking safe spaces to belong.
Mark Zuckerberg recently announced that Meta would change its approach to fact checking by replacing third-party fact-checking programs with crowd-sourced contributions. While Mark’s goal is to reduce censorship, critics argue this approach risks amplifying hate speech, misinformation, and disinformation.
Without official oversight it becomes increasingly difficult for everyday users to distinguish between factual information and harmful content. This could disproportionately harm marginalised communities who are often targeted by divisive and hateful content.
Elon Musk, on the other hand, has not shied away from using his platform to share personal political views and endorse political candidates. This raises questions about how social media leaders’ personal biases could influence public discourse and shape the digital landscape.
Following President Trump’s inauguration speech he signed an executive order that states the US government would only recognise two genders. This decision disregards the existence of intersex, non-binary and transgender individuals, which includes approximately 1.6 million people in the United States. Medical professionals warn that this policy undermines gender and sexual diversity, with severe implications for how individuals are identified on official government documents like passports and visas.
This policy has already sparked widespread debate across social media platforms however, the long-term consequences for trans and non-binary individuals both online and offline remain uncertain. According to recent statistics, over 50% of trans individuals in the US have reported experiencing harassment online and many fear an increase in discrimination under this new administration.
In addition to these measures, Trump also signed an executive order ending diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. These programs were designed to reduce discrimination and ensure underrepresented groups including women, people with disabilities, LGBTQ+ individuals, and those from low-income backgrounds had fair access to opportunities. By dismantling DEI initiatives, the administration risks increasing inequality in workplaces and beyond.
Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook plays a critical role in how these changes will unfold. Historically, Meta has supported groundbreaking LGBTQ+ campaigns and enabled community building.
However, the decision to end third-party fact-checking and rely on user-generated content for censorship raises serious concerns. Without official oversight, harmful content may proliferate, creating unsafe spaces for marginalised communities and encouraging online trolling which can lead to real-world consequences.
Divisive content often drives engagement, a key metric for marketers and advertisers. Yet, this type of engagement can also fuel the spread of misinformation and foster environments of hostility, particularly for vulnerable groups. The LGBTQ+ community and its allies worry that these changes could reverse progress made in using social media as a tool for advocacy, awareness, and inclusivity.
Going backwards should never be an option. While the media and advertising industries still have a huge diversity problem both in front of and behind the scenes we hold an undeniable amount of influence. With the right strategies and creative solutions those committed to change can ensure that they still reach marginalised communities and ensure that our work reflects the beautifully diverse world we live in.
At HER, where I serve as VP of Advertising & Partnerships, this has been our priority since inception. We understand that even though we serve the LGBTQ + community, people are not a monolith. That’s why we’ve built over 30 in-app communities which are safe spaces where our users can connect globally based on shared interests, values, and passions. Whether it’s sports, music, career paths, or even social discussions on current affairs, like the very topic we’re exploring today.
As a business predominantly driven by subscription revenue, we are intentional about partnering with brands that truly believe in supporting the LGBTQ+ community and bring real meaning, purpose and passion to the table. That’s why we focus on long-term relationships, viewing our brand collaborations as true marketing partnerships that span multiple years rather than one-off campaigns.
With the political and social media landscapes constantly evolving, I wanted to hear how other brand marketers and advertisers plan to navigate their strategies to reach these communities or create safe spaces. I asked three industry leaders to share their thoughts on how the industry can adapt and innovate in these challenging times.
“Since our inception, Revry has been resolutely steadfast in how we present and amplify our business, our programming, our community and ourselves. As an LGBTQ+ owned and operated media company, our goal is always to promote queer joy, which we believe is impenetrable, no matter the political landscape or controversial decisions made by players like Big Tech.
We of course understand the atmosphere and the very real call to be especially alert to protecting and showing up for our community in this moment, but that is also a regular practice for us, whether it’s monitoring potentially harmful comments or misinformation around our social content or advocating for ourselves in business spaces that have historically sidelined minority owned companies.
But while we may be a bit louder, our messaging to our community and our media and marketing partners remains the same: Ours is a vibrant, influential, sought-after and profitable community, so much so that a Gallup survey just declared that 1 in 10 Americans identify as LGBTQ+. Despite the climate, we are undaunted, and staying the course.”
– Damian Pelliccione, CEO and Founder, Revry
“As an agency we ensure our work for clients is as effective as possible by employing a diverse workforce, because it’s no secret that to authentically reach minority and marginalised audiences the creative minds behind the campaigns need to reflect the people you are trying to engage.
With this in mind the rolling back of DEI initiatives is a huge backwards step in effective marketing, and as agency leaders it is our role to educate clients and the wider industry about how vital it is that we bake DEI into our business strategies.
The only way we will win this fight is to focus on concrete business arguments rather than anything emotional or moral, because in reality this isn’t enough to convince . Diversity in thinking throughout the workforce delivers to the bottomline, the evidence for this is vast, so we need to keep this clarity in our message.”
– Darren Burroughs Managing Director, Sticky
“Meta’s recent changes to its Hateful Conduct Policy will undoubtedly make its platforms less safe for LGBTQIA+ people, with existing protections erased and new allowances for hateful language added. They now “allow allegations of mental illness or abnormality when based on gender or sexual orientation”, for example. It’s notable that this new allowance, and several others, applies only to LGBTQIA+ people.
“Marketers need to start truly assessing whose company their brand is keeping. Does partnering with a platform that is actively opening the floodgates of hate for LGBTQIA+ people align with your brand or company’s values? And if not, what are you prepared to do about it?
“Taking steps towards LGBTQIA+ equity in the workplace and in our marketing strategies can be daunting at first. That’s why we’ve just launched The Advocacy Playbook, the first-ever comprehensive LGBTQIA+ advocacy resource for the UK advertising sector, created in partnership with the Conscious Advertising Network. For brands and agencies that are looking for a way to cut through the noise and understand precisely what they can do to drive LGBTQIA+ inclusion- from workplace policy and activism to creating queer inclusive work the Playbook is the perfect place to start your journey.”
– Chris Dunne, CEO, Outvertising
