Why has Vivek Ramaswamy decided to become a social-media teetotaler in 2026? ‘I deleted X and Instagram’

Indian-American entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has started the year by quitting social media, removing X and Instagram from his phone.

Indian-American entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has commenced the new year by disconnecting from social media. The Republican politician and candidate for governor of Ohio has stated that he has removed X and Instagram from his mobile device, contending that incessant engagement with social media skews political judgment and poses a risk of conflating online chatter with genuine public sentiment.

Vivek Ramaswamy has deleted X and Instagram from his phone (AP)

In an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, Ramaswamy links the decision to a discussion he had with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during her trip to the United States last July.

“When I met Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during her visit to the U.S. in July 2024, she told me she never reads or watches the news because she doesn't want the media to influence her approach to governing. Instead, she travels her country and hears directly from citizens. What a beautiful idea,” Ramaswamy writes.

‘I deleted X and Instagram’

He further stated that he is currently trying a similar approach as 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.”

Ramaswamy also clarified that his team would use social media platforms to campaign on his behalf for the governor race. He expressed his intention to engage directly with actual voters, noting that this would bring him greater satisfaction.

“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,” he continues.

Ramaswamy calls modern social media algorithms distorted

Ramaswamy went on to elaborate on the original purpose of social media, which was to facilitate connections between leaders and voters by providing real-time feedback. However, he pointed out that contemporary social media algorithms are distorted due to the prevalent use of bots.

“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. 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 social media content creators,” he stated.

Moving further, Ramaswamy stressed on how social media disseminated hatred towards Republicans, fostering skepticism regarding the notion that the assassination attempt on US President Donald Trump in Pennsylvania was fabricated.

Ramaswamy addresses recent waves of racial slurs

In response to the recent surge of racial slurs directed at him due to his Indian heritage, Ramaswamy stated that the actual situation was quite the contrary.

“In 2025 I saw a spate of shocking racial slurs and worse on social media. Yet that same year I visited tens of thousands of voters across all of Ohio's 88 counties--from inner cities to farms, union halls to factories, Republican rallies to one-on-one discussions with protesters--and I didn't hear a single bigoted remark from an Ohio voter the entire year,” he stated.

Before concluding, Ramaswamy humorously noted that if this resolution resembles his past ones, he “might be back to scrolling X by March.”