In a wild turn of events that’s more dramatic than Silicon Valley’s latest startup saga, tech companies are opening their wallets to settle Donald Trump’s social media lawsuits faster than venture capitalists fund AI startups.

The Big Tech Payback

YouTube has just agreed to shell out a cool $24.5 million to settle Trump’s lawsuit over his 2021 account suspension. But here’s the juicy part - $22 million is earmarked for the Trust for the National Mall and a White House ballroom construction. Talk about turning legal drama into architectural philanthropy!

A Silicon Valley Drama Unfolds

This settlement is part of a larger tech drama where Meta paid $25 million and X (formerly Twitter) coughed up $10 million. It’s like a high-stakes poker game where tech giants are folding faster than a cheap lawn chair at a Mission District picnic.

The Power Play

Interestingly, tech leaders like Sundar Pichai and Mark Zuckerberg have been playing nice with Trump’s administration, showing up at his second inauguration in a move that screams “we’re totally cool now”. The settlement doesn’t admit liability, but it sure looks like a strategic peace offering.

With Alphabet’s market value hitting nearly $3 trillion, this settlement is basically pocket change - proving once again that in the tech world, money talks louder than principles.