# "Digital Minister Wildberger Speaks at re:publica, Zuckerberg is Jealous of Elon Musk, and a New Scam Method Spreads on TikTok" The podcast episode "Haken dran" was recorded during re:publica 2025. The moderators Kevin Kühnert and Janis Schakarian (outgoing audio CVD at Spiegel) discuss current developments and trends in the area of social media and digital topics. ### 1. Mark Zuckerberg's Approach to Trump and MAGA Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has felt a certain jealousy towards Elon Musk, according to Bloomberg. Zuckerberg was "irked" that Musk was "perceived as clearly more innovative". Meta advisor Joel Kaplan convinced Zuckerberg that "the Republicans are actually much better for us politically". However, this shift towards Trump and the Republicans brings problems: "the truth is, though, that there is still a deep-seated flight and mistrust between the Trump-Maga team and Mark Zuckerberg". ### 2. New TikTok Scam Method Endangers Users A new scam is spreading on TikTok, where users are lured into a trap with supposed "hacks" for free app usage. "In doing so, they sometimes explain various terms that you have to enter into the PowerShell, i.e. the terminal." In reality, it is "a backdoor [...] a script, malware in the end, which installs a Trojan horse on your device", allowing "sensitive information to be stolen". ### 3. Digital Minister Wildberger Focuses on Open Source The new Digital Minister Carsten Wildberger spoke at re:publica and promised to "build a digital stack for administration and make it largely open source". At the same time, he emphasizes the need for economic aspects of digitalization: "digitalization can also be an opportunity for new growth in Germany". ### 4. YouTube as the Largest Podcast Platform Despite Lacking Features YouTube claims "that one billion people listen to podcasts on YouTube every month", while Spotify only has "around 100 million regular listeners". Despite this dominant position, YouTube only offers insufficient podcast features: "it's super unsexy for podcast publishers to publish on YouTube and super unsexy for podcast fans to listen to them". ## Breakdown The podcast provides an informative insight into current digital and social media topics, where the moderators skillfully link political and economic aspects with technical developments. The tension between political ideology and the economic interests of large tech corporations is particularly evident in Zuckerberg's strategic approach to the Republicans. The discussion about the motivations of tech CEOs - whether narcissism, economic calculation, or ideological conviction - offers a nuanced view of the interconnections between politics and technology companies. The podcast largely refrains from technical depth and remains on the surface in its analysis. The personal perspective of the two hosts is in the foreground, where they create added value for listeners through their observations and evaluations. Notable is a distinctly critical attitude towards large tech corporations and their CEOs, while the discussed political dimensions of digitalization are viewed from a rather liberal-progressive perspective. The power structures within the tech sector are addressed, but not fundamentally questioned. Overall, the podcast offers an accessible introduction to current digital topics with an informative character and light entertainment. Listening recommendation: An informative update on current social media trends with entertaining moderation, which, however, does not offer a deeper technical analysis.