Aidan Kohn-Murphy (born ) is an American social media

content creator Content creation or content creative is the act of producing and sharing information or media content for specific audiences, particularly in digital contexts. According to '' Dictionary.com'', content refers to "something that is to be expresse ...

and

political activist A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some ...

. He is the founder of Gen-Z for Change, a non-profit

advocacy organization Advocacy is an activity by an individual or group that aims to influence decisions within political, economic, and social institutions. Advocacy includes activities and publications to influence public policy, laws and budgets by using fac ...

that uses social media to promote civil discourse and political action among members of

Generation Z Generation Z (often shortened to Gen Z), also known as zoomers, is the demographic cohort succeeding Millennials and preceding Generation Alpha. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1990s as starting birth years and the early 2 ...

Activism

Gen-Z for Change began in 2020 with Kohn-Murphy creating the

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

account "TikTok for Biden" to support the presidential bid of

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

. As of August 2022 it is a registered

501(c)(4) A 501(c) organization is a nonprofit organization in the Law of the United States#Federal law, federal law of the United States according to Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 501(c)). Such organizations are exempt from some Taxation in the Un ...

organisation with a core team of 15–20 people and a coalition of over 500 content creators and activists, which together have 540 million followers and receive 1.5 billion monthly views on social media. It has been the subject of significant news coverage, especially after coordinating a one-hour briefing with the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

for 30 prominent TikTok content creators about the United States’ strategic goals regarding the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, which was parodied by ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

''. Kohn-Murphy himself is featured prominently in this coverage, in part because of his young age (he was 16 when he created the TikTok for Biden account). Many articles characterise him as politically precocious, and the first news coverage of his political activism is a 2011 ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' article about then-seven-year-old Kohn-Murphy's testimony before a D. C. Council Committee of the Whole, Youth Issues hearing, against the ban of

chocolate milk Chocolate milk is a type of flavoured milk made by mixing cocoa solids with milk (either dairy or plant-based). It is a food pairing in which the milk's mouthfeel masks the dietary fibres of the cocoa solids. Types The liquid carbohy ...

in Washington, D.C.'s public schools. Kohn-Murphy was also interviewed by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' in 2022 as president of the

Georgetown Day School Georgetown Day School (GDS) is an independent coeducational PK-12 school located in Washington, D.C. The school educates 1,075 elementary, middle, and high school students in northwestern Washington, D.C. Russell Shaw is the current Head of Sch ...

's Student Staff Council regarding controversy over

anti-racism Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and deliberate ...

teaching in schools, unrelated to his work with Gen-Z for Change.

Personal life

Kohn-Murphy lives in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

He is gay. A biographical article on Kohn-Murphy partly attributes his activism and prominence to his parents' political savvy; his mother directs the legal clinics at

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

, and his father served as a former D.C. Mayor’s chief of staff and is

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

’s vice president for government relations and community engagement.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kohn-Murphy, Aidan Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American LGBTQ people Activists from Washington, D.C. American social media influencers American TikTokers Georgetown Day School alumni LGBTQ people from Washington, D.C. LGBTQ TikTokers Members of the Democratic Socialists of America from Washington, D.C. American founders