On Nov. 3, 2025, Condé Nast announced that the independent publication Teen Vogue will be merged with the fashion magazine Vogue. This news comes as “part of a push to expand the Vogue ecosystem,” according to an article posted to Vogue’s business platform.
While the article asserts that Teen Vogue will retain its identity and voice, it is essential to consider how the decision to lay off head editors and writers for Teen Vogue conveys a message in itself— one that might deter the push towards critical thinking the publication has promoted.
In mid-2015, Teen Vogue underwent a significant change, rebranding the magazine as a politically conscious platform that aimed to empower young girls with stories about social issues affecting them and the world at large. The publication’s viral op-ed, “Donald Trump Is Gaslighting America,” is often heralded as a clear example of this change.
This came at a time when digital spaces for teens and tweens were dwindling out, allowing their voices and perspectives to take center stage in a way that had not been seen before.
Subsequently, the publication’s political desk was a powerhouse that advocated for various issues ranging from the atrocious war in Gaza to book bans and gun violence in schools,” according to Allegra Kirkland, the former politics editor from 2019 to the summer of 2025.
However, following the announcement, the entire politics and identity sections have been scrapped with no stated plans to staff them.
Following this, Condé Union took to X (formerly Twitter) to publish a statement on the merger. It is hard to ignore the undercurrent of discrimination from the move, as the statement highlights how “nearly all of these staffers identify as LGBTQ,” leaving behind “only one woman of colour…on the editorial staff at Teen Vogue.”
In addition to the merger, Teen Vogue’s editor-in-chief (EIC), Versha Sharma, will be removed and succeeded by Vogue’s current head of editorial content, Chloe Malle.
According to a statement made to Fast Company, Vogue cites a decline in audience reach as a reason for the merger, believing that uniting the publications will bring about a larger audience. However, the work achieved by Teen Vogue in terms of political reporting far outweighs that of the parent publication, prompting many to worry that the latter’s commentary moving forward might be a distilled parody of Teen Vogue’s work.
Teen Vogue has received numerous awards for its journalism, such as the April Sidney Award for Social Justice Coverage in 2018 and the Roosevelt Institute’s Freedom of Speech Medal earlier this year. The Roosevelt Institute stated that the merger is “evidence that corporate concentration eliminates innovative ideas and silences voices with less power.” These achievements are why the merger is so devastating.
Amid a rise in defamatory language and action against marginalized groups in the US (and prejudice across the globe), this decision pointedly leans towards an apolitical world— one where we don’t acknowledge the peril around us and become comfortable living in secluded bubbles.
According to Aiyanna Ishmael, Teen Vogue‘s former style editor, there were no Black staffers left at the publication well before the merger announcement. This has left numerous former staffers wary about the direction the publication will follow and what it will mean for their dedicated audience. Many former employees took to social media to share their shock and dismay at the announcement, and can only hope that Teen Vogue’s archives will be preserved.
With an attack on the press and increased censorship in the media, it is crucial to monitor Vogue’s next steps and support its former staff members. In an industry that notoriously pushes aside the narratives of women and BIPOC, moves like this are nothing new, but devastating regardless.
The war on critical thinking is one we should not ignore, to ensure that young girls are getting access to verified news that centers on political messaging and advocacy for the oppressed.