200 influencers were allowed to attend the Democratic Party Convention in Chicago. They are supposed to mobilize young voters for Harris who do not consume traditional news. But Trump and the Republicans are also seeking proximity to influencers.
At the Democratic Convention in Chicago this week, in addition to party grandees Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, and Barack and Michelle Obama, another group also appeared: influencers. These are people who achieve high reach with their posts on social networks. Five of them were allowed to address the convention directly in a speech.
The Democrats are making an intensive effort to court the group of influencers. A total of 200 influencers received accreditation to the congress, which is usually reserved for journalists. The influencers are supposed to report from the congress and mobilize their fans for the Democrats.
Democrats with boost after Biden resignation
After Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential candidacy, Harris’ campaign got off to a flying start on social media. Memes – digital media content – about her are being shared millions of times. Users are happy about the fresh wind in the race for the White House.
On Tiktok, the video platform popular especially among young people, Harris’ account received more than twice as many views in twenty days as Biden’s account had in five months, with significantly fewer posts, according to a CNN analysis.
Harris’ campaign leaders want to maintain this free viral advertising for the youngest group of voters. In the event hall at the party’s convention in Chicago, several areas have been reserved for the influencers so that they can shoot videos there. Seats in the stands with a good view of the speaker’s platform have been reserved for them.
Some even get to give a speech themselves, like 24-year-old Deja Foxx. Five years ago, she was the youngest employee of Kamala Harris’ short presidential campaign. The activist comes from Arizona and campaigns for liberal abortion rights. In her videos from the convention, she gives her fans a look behind the scenes. She goes through the outfits she will wear and shows her joy about her appearance and her nervousness. In between, she educates people about the topic of abortion.
The decision to invite influencers to the party convention sends a strong signal to young voters, Foxx said in an interview with public radio NPR. It signals to young people that Harris is listening to them and is responding to them, she continued. Foxx interprets the fact that she was able to speak herself as “a reminder that the future of politics will look different with Gen Z.”
Carlos Eduardo Espina from Texas also made an appearance at the United Center Stadium. The 25-year-old son of immigrants from Latin America shares videos about news, politics and sports in Spanish on Tiktok. In his videos from the congress, he takes his fans into the event hall and lets them share in the atmosphere. The euphoria is “total,” he enthusiastically commented on Biden’s appearance on Monday.
Unlike journalists from established media, influencers are not bound by standards such as balance or factual accuracy. “I’m very biased,” said 35-year-old Josh Helfgott, an influencer who posts on LGBTQ+. “There’s no question that the influencers invited support Kamala, at least all of those I’ve met,” he told Reuters.
Influencers reach young people with their content, who often do not consume traditional news. According to a recent study by the Pew Research Center, around half of Americans under 30 regularly use Tiktok to get news. That is significantly more than in the other age groups. And although political advertising is prohibited on Tiktok according to the guidelines, political content – shared by candidates’ accounts or by third parties – is very popular.
The Democrats want to take advantage of this. “The participation of influencers in our Congress will expand our reach and ensure that everyone can experience democracy in action,” said Cayana Mackey-Nance, the Democrats’ director of digital strategy, in a statement to Congress.
Trump also seeks proximity to influencers
For a long time, Republicans used social networks better for their own ends than Democrats. Donald Trump has built up a large fan base on various social networks. He is, so to speak, his own biggest influencer. He is direct and unvarnished – and does not shy away from sharing manipulated content. On Sunday, for example, he shared images of Taylor Swift generated by artificial intelligence. In them, the famous singer appears to announce her support for Trump. Swift has an enormous reach through various channels and spoke out in favor of Biden four years ago. She has not yet taken a position in this election campaign, but has called on her fans to vote.
Trump is now also seeking proximity to influencers. At the Republican Party Convention last month, Amber Rose, influencer and model, gave a speech. Trump is also present on Tiktok. His account, which has been active since June 1, has over 10 million followers and 38.2 million likes.
On his channel, he poses with the 29-year-old influencer and wrestler Logan Paul. He also appeared on his podcast. He also likes to show himself with martial artists on Tiktok. In a video, he does a little dance with the 23-year-old video game livestreamer Adin Ross to the sounds of the national anthem.
Ross, who was banned from Twitch, a streaming platform popular with young people, for several cases of hate speech, visited Trump for an interview at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. The meeting was streamed live – and to ensure it attracted attention, Ross presented Trump with a Tesla Cybertruck.
Who goes viral wins?
Harris’s Tiktok account may have just under 4 million followers, but over 84 million likes. Here, Harris is portrayed as the friendly, human alternative to Trump.
In one video, she is seen getting out of a plane and greeting children to the sound of a guitar. Suddenly the music becomes somber and the camera zooms into the background, where a Trump campaign plane has just landed. “I’m just about to sit back and relax and enjoy the evening when I suddenly hear this excited, crunchy voice,” she says in the soundtrack, which was taken from a reality TV show.
Such campaigns are designed to reach as many people as possible on social networks. By working with influencers, with poses and dances, Harris and Trump want to get closer to young voters in order to mobilize them. Whether the advertising will pay off in votes will only become clear on November 5th.