During Vice President Kamala Harris’ failed presidential campaign, she enlisted the help of social media influencers to garner support.
According to The Washington Post, these “content creators” were using their platforms to target young voters of color to go out and vote for Harris (via the Post):
Those creators — and the campaigns and outside groups that hope to tap into their audiences this cycle — believe such efforts will help reach potential voters who are less likely to pay attention to traditional media or campaign advertising.
A third of adults ages 18-29 say that they regularly get their news from TikTok, one reason both Harris and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump have accounts on the platform.
This week, a study published by Pew Research Center showed that about one-in-five Americans, 21 percent, say they regularly get news from influencers on social media (via Pew Research):
This is especially common among younger adults: 37% of those ages 18 to 29 say they regularly get news from influencers. But there are minimal differences between Republicans and Democrats on this question.
In the survey, among Americans who get news from news influencers on social media, 65 percent of them say news influencers have helped them better understand current events and civic issues.
In addition, these Americans said that they get a variety of different types of information. This ranges from basic facts and opinions to funny posts and breaking news. When it comes to opinions, 30 percent say they mostly agree with what they see, compared to 2 percent who say they see opinions they mostly disagree with.
