CHICAGO — Across this week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago, more than 200 online influencers, streamers and other social media personalities have been capturing and livestreaming their impressions of what’s going on.
There’s the 12-year-old nicknamed “Knowa,” who’s posted with a swath of prominent Democrats and went head-to-head with Republican personalities like MyPillow founder Mike Lindell inside the convention hall.
A veteran from rural North Carolina with more than 5 million TikTok followers proclaimed himself a “Hillbilly for Harris.” Other influencers and social media personalities are sharing everything from the food available at trucks outside the United Center to attendees’ thoughts on more serious issues, such the war in Gaza.
The creators were invited to the DNC by convention organizers, a new but significant part of a digital strategy that aims to leverage the sizable followings of creators across platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Discord and Twitch, according to officials with Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ campaign. They hope it will help Harris and running mate Tim Walz reach new voters who might not be following along with political news via traditional media.
The creators span a range of ages, backgrounds and content specialties, often reflecting the diversity of the audiences they serve. They can be spotted throughout the United Center, with phones on tripods and selfie sticks.
The DNC rolled out perks like “Creators for Kamala” lounges stocked with food and beverages alongside working space. Inside the convention hall, there’s the first-ever Creator Platform, a slightly elevated space that gives creators a spot from which to pose and post.
“It’s kind of surreal to be sitting here and surrounded by so many politicians and people with political influence that I’ve looked up to for so long, and then to be surrounded by other creators. It’s a testament to how the media landscape has shifted, and how much influence as creators we have,” said AustinShow, an American YouTuber and Twitch streamer with millions of followers across platforms.
Russell Ellis, also known as “jolly_good_ginger” to his TikTok followers, also remarked on the turn of events that led him to the convention floor.
“I’m authentically a hillbilly, a Hillbilly for Harris, in fact,” Ellis said. “In 2020, I got laid off of my job, and with nothing else to do, I made a TikTok video to kind of rant. And you know, 5 million people later, here I am.”
Some of the content already produced is on the lighter side of what’s going on as the thousands of Democratic delegates gather in Chicago, like daily convention outfit checks. Other accounts, like UnderTheDeskNews, peel back the curtain on the convention process, sharing with followers information about delegates’ duties and what it’s like to be on the convention floor they might have seen on television.
Hasan Piker, who has 2.7 million followers on Twitch and has been outspoken about Israel and the war in Gaza — a key issue dividing Democrats — has been streaming his experience around the DNC footprint, showing viewers around the food truck area and, on Wednesday night, interviewing U.S. Rep. Greg Casar of Texas, as convention speakers took the floor behind them.
Former President Donald Trump and his GOP allies have also sought to reach online audiences, especially men, through outreach and appearances with personalities on YouTube and other streaming platforms. Trump has sat for interviews with YouTuber and actor Jake Paul as well as streamer Adin Ross — who pushed Trump to do a dance with him that immediately landed on TikTok.
Yet Republicans have derided the Democrats’ embrace of influencers and questioned whether the DNC is paying people to post positive content.
Matt Hill, a convention spokesman, denied content creators at the DNC are paid or given special treatment.
“As part of our work to reach more Americans than ever before, we are credentialing content creators the same way we credential media, and we do not pay either to cover our event,” Hill said.
In addition to the content they’re making and distributing via their own channels, influencers have also been built into the program itself, with each night of the convention featuring appearances from creators like Carlos Eduardo Espina, a 25-year-old nonprofit director, activist and lawyer with more than 10 million followers on social media. From the stage Wednesday night, Espina spoke of his immigrant parents’ decision to come the U.S. and advocated for Harris’ election, describing Trump’s policies on immigration-related issues as “outright anti-American.”
Jennifer Welch, who co-hosts the “I’ve Had It” podcast, is among the digital influencers credentialed for the DNC along with her co-host Angie Sullivan.
The women have been welcomed at major Democratic events in the past, and hosted Harris on their show in March. Welch said she thinks it’s “refreshing for millennials and Gen Z to see white women with Southern accents” speak for equality and advocate for them.
Influencers have traditionally dominated the worlds of retail and marketing, oftentimes partnering with brands to promote products to their audience. A shifting preference for authenticity and niche online communities has meant that Americans are increasingly as likely to receive their news from smaller but deeply engaged communities as from major brands and personalities.
The presence of both at the DNC shows how much the Harris campaign is attempting to meet them in similar ways and energize hard-to-reach voters who tend to tune out traditional media outlets.
“We are living in a hybrid media reality where the non-credentialed and non-mainstream press voices are very important,” said John Wihbey, an associate professor of media innovation and technology at Northeastern University.
While the DNC’s decision to invite influencers may put the party’s message in front of new audiences of voters, Wihbey said it can also pose some risks since content creators typically don’t abide by the same standards as traditional media outlets.
But for a campaign that has made “joy” its overriding theme, opening the doors to content creators may be a risk worth taking.
Blair Imani Ali, a former progressive activist who turned to content creation when she was unemployed in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, said she found she could mobilize people around social justice topics. She explains how to vote and how to become a poll worker as well as exploring race, ethnicity and nationality in America.
“If we’re going to build a big tent in terms of solidarity and different values and beliefs, we also have to do that in terms of how people consume content, how people find their way towards politics,” Imani Ali said.
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Hadero reported from South Bend, Indiana.
