This Was the Year of the Influencer Political Takeover
WiredAfter years of sitting on the sidelines, content creators became a part of the mainstream political media this year, delivering election news, analysis, and political commentary to their online fans—all while sidestepping the traditional press. Instead of making time for traditional sit-down interviews with the mainstream press, Harris and Trump relied on creators to galvanize votes and spread their campaign messages. The Harris campaign paid at least $2.5 million to management agencies that book creators for political advertising campaigns. Throughout the 2020 election, former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg spent more than $300 million on a presidential campaign that recruited influencers and meme pages as paid digital surrogates, and the Biden administration routinely invited creators to the White House for briefings.
History of this topic
"Everyone is taking their skim": How Democratic consultants cashed in on Harris' losing campaign
Salon
The Future of Political Influencers
Wired
Ground Game: Courting influencers, third-party candidates, and noncitizen voting
Associated Press)
Social Media Platforms are Going to War for Online Talent and Influencers are Winning Big
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