The culture of memes and social networks caused a change in the way of doing politics in the United States. In an attempt to modernize their messages, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump have turned to content creators to appeal to the 41 million young people eligible to vote in 2024
Text: Salome Ramirez Vargas
Social networks are Benjamín Zamora’s main job. In his digital accounts, the young journalist accumulates about 6 million followers, to whom he communicates news events in the United States (USA) every day. His platform, along with that of other content creators, has become a crucial source of information ahead of the presidential elections.
“It is very important because that is where young people are getting informed. Nowadays I think that many people no longer sit at home to watch the news… because they are simply very busy with life, with their jobs and then it becomes easier to watch the news on your phone at the time you want. you want,” Zamora said in an interview with the Voice of America.
Born and raised in the Texas border city of El Paso, Zamora began posting videos on TikTok in 2020, amid the pandemic, while continuing his work in traditional media. Today he dedicates all his efforts to social networks.
“It is an immense responsibility, especially for content creators who have a platform of millions of people, because you are talking about the fact that perhaps a video published by an influencer has much more reach than a video published by Univisión or Telemundo,” he added.
The Democrats, along with Kamala Harris, and the Republicans with Donald Trump, have turned to digital platforms as a key means to spread their messages and try to convince the youngest to go out and vote.
A study by the Information and Research Center on Civic Learning and Participation in Massachusetts found that in the 2024 general elections in the United States, some 41 million people belonging to Generation Z would be eligible to vote.
The analysis indicates that young people between 18 and 27 years old are currently voting to a greater extent than previous generations when they were that age, making them a key group to reach the White House.
Modernizing decades of politics in the US
In search of appealing to a hyperconnected public, parties have involved content creators in their most important events, such as national conventions. Behind this strategy for the Republicans there was also a young mind: that of Brilyn Hollyhand.
Hollyhand is 18 years old and the chairman of the Republican National Committee’s Youth Advisory Council. He recently released his first book and although he has been involved in politics for about seven years, this election will be the first in which he will be eligible to vote.
“I’ve spent seven years encouraging people to vote, and now I get to vote for the first time in 20 days, and I can’t wait,” Hollyhand told VOA. The young man has directly advised Trump on how to reach younger people and on returning to social networks as a means of spreading his message.
Hollyhand presented the party with the idea of bringing content creators to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as a way to use “pre-existing infrastructure of these famous TikTokers and celebrity influencers.” Finally, about 100 influencers gathered at the party’s most important event in July.
“We were giving Generation Z a front-row seat to history… There were TikTokers who supported Trump. There were TikTokers who did not support Trump. There were political influencers, there were non-political influencers, there were fitness influencers, there were video game influencers, there were cooking influencers, there were very cool people who came from all these areas,” Hollyhand added.
Among the guests, according to the young Republican, were a dozen Hispanic content creators.
About 45% of the 40 million members of Generation Z who will be eligible to vote in 2024 are young people of color, including 8.8 million Latinos, 5.7 million young Black people, 1.7 million American Asian and 1.8 million multiracial youth.
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“There is a place for young people in politics. “I want more Democrats in politics too, as well as obviously our party, the Young Republicans,” Hollyhand added.
This strategy was replicated on a larger scale by the Democratic Party in Chicago, almost a month later. About 200 influencers were invited to the Democratic National Convention, who had broad access to the event.
Benjamín Zamora was one of the content creators invited to the DNC.
“It seemed very important to me that access to content creators be given because many people are now getting information from content creators or watching the news there and it is important that we also have a place at the table… It seems to me that there is room for everyone , for the traditional and conventional press, but also for content creators,” said Zamora.
The young journalist assures that this new approach to the public will be something that will continue in the next elections. “It seems valid to me because network audiences are no less valuable than conventional press audiences,” he added.
For Hollyhand, these strategies in the US are “a testament to trying new ideas for the great old game, actually modernizing it a little.”
The reach of social media extends beyond content creators or influencers. The presence of singers, actors and artists who accumulate millions of followers also provide platforms with millions of followers who, according to experts, could be persuaded by their favorite public figures.
“Celebrities and social media influencers can and often do influence voters. Some feel an obligation to comment on political issues. Others do it on social issues that have a strong influence on elections,” Professor Wael Jabr explained in an analysis from the University of Pennsylvania.
The Brennan Center for Justice in Washington estimates that political advertisers in the US spent more than $619 million on the two largest digital advertising platforms, Google and Meta, between early 2023 and late August 2024.
At least $248 million of that spending was focused on the presidential campaign. As of August 31, 2024, Harris had spent $182.1 million on social media ads and Trump had spent about $45.3 million.
Social networks at the center of polarization
American voters face one of the most polarizing election cycles this year. A Vanderbilt University study found that more and more people identify as “extremely liberal” or “extremely conservative,” which has created a divide between the public that is fueled on social media.
“It has always been like this, we have different opinions about what happens in our country, but in general we share the same media and, therefore, also a similar reality. Algorithms and their impact on what we see have changed that. “We have entire populations that don’t even share the same reality,” Professor Michele Ramsey said in the University of Pennsylvania analysis.
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On social media, polarization is evident in the comments section. And both Zamora and Hollyhand live it every day.
“We live in a time in the country in which there is a lot of political intolerance and I think it can come from both sides. What I always tell my followers is that we have to be tolerant, that we have to respect that we live in a democratic country,” Zamora concluded.
While for Hollyhand, “there should not be a time in the United States where just because you work with a candidate to be the next commander in chief you receive a death threat. That’s sad and unfortunate, and shows why so many young people are afraid to enter politics because of how polarizing it is. But the only way to make a change and make a difference is for sane and competent young people to enter politics.”
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