As 2025 winds down, 2026 is not just a new year — it marks the 250th anniversary of the United States of America. That means patriotism and American history will be front and center as we inch closer to the Fourth of July. We couldn't be happier that President Trump will be leading the nation on that momentous day instead of Kamala Harris, and we're sure the celebrations will be ones to remember.
For one social media content creator, 2026 is also an opportunity to help spread the messages of American history and American patriotism both on- and offline.
Matt Stanton started the USA and American Flag accounts on Instagram. Townhall recently spoke with him about his social media efforts and his vision for the future.
"I'm trying to build a pocket in the social media universe, connecting people through patriotism and the American flag," Stanton said. "The way America is right now, if you post patriotic stuff, people just assume you're aligned with Trump."
Stanton says the America-flag type patriotism should be the "north star," and his focus is to "give people shareable content that's not overly in support of a candidate."
"It's effective," Stanton said. "If I just got a patriotic message out there, it'll help bring people in and unify people."
Stanton said he'd also like to help champion other content creators like Teag "Pure Joy" McCoy, Staton sees it as a way to springboard patriotic content creators.
"Going into 2026, building a core audience around patriotism and trying to use it as a launchpad for individual creators to really amplify their voice and provide a platform for their voice," Staton said, will help "grow their content and bring people together under the flag and patriotism."
Stanton noted the Townhall readership embraces this patriotism, and when readers share content like a crowd chanting "USA" at a sporting event, he said, "It helps bring people together and indirectly elevates patriotism."
Developing that patriotism is important. During the conversation with Townhall, Stanton discussed Alec Penstone, the 100-year-old British World War II veteran. Penstone joined Good Morning Britain on Remembrance Day and tearfully said the sacrifices his generation made during that war weren't worth it.
"My message is, I can see in my mind's eye those rows and rows of white stones and all the hundreds of my friends who gave their lives, for what? The country of today? No, I'm sorry - but the sacrifice wasn't worth the result of what it is now," Penstone said. "What we fought for was our freedom, but now it's a darn sight worse than when I fought for it."
Stanton said he found the interviewer's demeanor off-putting. "Her reaction was so elitist and so dismissive of him," Stanton remarked. He added that it was important to pay attention to things across the pond. "What happens in Europe generally migrates to the U.S. in terms of governmental policies and all that stuff."
After the July assassination attempt against President Trump, Stanton said he saw a rise in patriotism. "A lot of hidden Trump supporters came out of the woodwork," he noted. "Elon Musk was probably the most influential of those."
Stanton, who has worked closely with the entire Turning Point USA organization for years, was also deeply impacted by the assassination of founder Charlie Kirk in September.
He described the Turning Point staff as "absolutely great people" and said, "After the Charlie Kirk assassination, it really kind of mobilized the youth and everyone like that to take the reins and start smaller accounts, which have grown and seen more shares, especially in patriotic content."
But that outspoken patriotism also comes with risks. Stanton said the recent shooting at Brown University, where sophomore Ella Cook, vice president of the school's College Republicans, was killed, along with MukhammadAziz Umurzokov, a freshman from Uzbekistan. Stanton said that the shooting was just as scary as Kirk's.
He noted that many conservative influencers are facing increased threats to their safety. "The Left always likes to say the right is the side of violence, but if you’re a Kamlaa Harris or a Democrat influencer, you’re not paying money for security," Stanton said.
Despite that, he's hopeful and optimistic for the future. When it comes to building social media, he says there's a lot of strategy, including having certain "content pillars."
"There are certain phrases that I lean into, like 'The European mind cannot comprehend' or 'Share with a patriot,'" Stanton said. Those things make content that's designed to be shareable and relatable. He also said staying abreast of news and things that are trending on X, Google, and Facebook can help drive content and sharing.
"Have a plan, if you want to be a social media creator...have a plan and stick with it," Staton said. "You're not going to grow thousands of followers overnight, but if you're consistent with it...you have to make sure you stick to that plan. I stuck to a plan and I was able to grow this thing."
The USA Instagram account has 1.3 million followers, and the American Flag Instagram account has more than 225,000 followers.
When asked about burnout, Stanton said, "Burnout does exist, and you have to figure out a way to cope with the burnout."
"I work 24/7," Stanton said. I post basically every single day. It can be exhausting at times. You just really have to be passionate for the subject matter you're building these pages around."