Do you think the independent media played a role in Donald Trump's victory in 2016?

I do.

It may have been the difference.

Remember, Trump had no friends in the press – not even any impartial ones – except the independent media.

What do I mean by the independent media? It's a term of art that means several things to me. Generally speaking, it includes media sites created specifically for the online digital age. To me, it also means those with a point of view different from the big establishment news agencies. And, lastly, it suggests a certain skepticism of government and even the political status quo.

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I know for a fact Trump was very much aware of the alternative or independent media before he decided to run for president in 2016. As we know, he had nothing but disdain for most of the media, which he unabashedly labeled as "fake news." Ironically, you may recall, that term was first used by Big Media cheerleaders about independent news sites like WND.

Since Trump won, the media have been at war with him. But, let's be honest, they haven't really laid a glove on him. He hasn't buckled under the relentless attacks. He just holds a mirror up to their antics in his own counter-punches.

But since the inauguration, the most important media enterprises in America today have gone to war with the independent media. And who are they? Google, YouTube, Facebook and Amazon.

Maybe you don't think of Google, YouTube, Facebook and Amazon as the media, but they are. And they are indeed the most important media in America today.

Most people get their news, directly or indirectly, from Google and Facebook. YouTube is arguably the most important source of video information (and misinformation) in the world today. And Amazon not only owns one of the most important newspapers in the world, the Washington Post, but also serves as a major hosting service, a major advertiser and shares a worldview with Google, YouTube and Facebook.

Google and Facebook alone control 75 percent of the digital advertising market. Add Amazon to the equation, and you might be talking about 90 percent.

There was a day in American history when that would have been alarming. We had laws and regulations against cross-ownership of TV, radio and newspapers in major markets because of the threat that only one point of view could be heard, seen and read in a major city. Do you remember?

Yet, today, Google, YouTube, Facebook and Amazon control most of the news people see. If it were entirely up to that cartel, WND wouldn't exist – neither would Breitbart, Daily Caller and a host of other independent news sources.

Most WND visitors do not visit the site because of Facebook links or Google searches. They visit WND directly, organically, by habit, entering through the front door, just as they visit the DrudgeReport, to find out what's going on. In fact, if you relied on Google to tell you what's going on, you would never hear of the DrudgeReport or WND.

That's because Google is at war with independent media. So is YouTube. So is Facebook. And, as I only discovered recently, so is Amazon. It's a war of extermination. We are the endangered species this leftist cartel doesn't mind eradicating – in fact, it's a high priority. They change their algorithms based specifically on ways to deprive the independent media of traffic and advertising.

The overwhelming evidence is found in dozens of statistical studies, the plummeting ad revenue for independent media and the common denominator these digital behemoths choose as their "content watchdogs" – and this is the real giveaway.

Do you know who it is? Can you guess? If you have been reading this column for very long, you already know – otherwise, what I am about to tell you should be a shocking revelation. It should send chills up and down your spine. That conglomerates the size of Google, YouTube, Facebook and Amazon would rely on extremist left-wing hatemongers like the Southern Poverty Law Center to determine its most sensitive content guidelines is beyond the pale. But that's the truth.

Let me ask you a question: How important and influential are these four companies to the cultural and political direction of America?

Let me ask you another question: If those four companies place rabid conspiracy theorists like the SPLC in positions of power in their content policymaking, how long do you think the independent media will survive, with their revenues shrinking, playing on an unlevel playing field with the dominant search engine and with algorithms skewed against them?

And, last question, once the independent media are gone, how long do you think the First Amendment would be anything more than 45 nice sounding words?