A very social presidential election
Methods of campaigning are constantly changing to adapt to the context of elections. Because young voters could be the deciding factor of the presidential election in November, the Harris for President (HFP) campaign has been trying to engage younger audiences.
Due to the increase of political content on social media, influencers not associated with the campaign have been pressured by their fans and others on social media to declare their chosen candidate to the public.
Following the 2024 Presidential Debate in September, pop star Taylor Swift, who has 284 million followers, officially announced her endorsement of Harris in a post that garnered 10 million likes and 1.5 million shares.
She is far from the only celebrity to publicly endorse a candidate, and other influencers on social media have also taken to their platforms to talk politics.
One such influencer named Vidya Gopalan, known online as @queencitytrends, has a combined 3.6 million followers on TikTok and Instagram. She said she discusses politics in some of her videos, but her account is not mainly political.
She also said she believes that creators should not be required to speak politically. She said she believes there is no problem with discussing politics on social media, as long as public figures have reputable information.
“It doesn’t make sense for people to blanketly state something or say an opinion when they’re not aware of the topic,” Gopalan said. “I don’t think it’s for everybody, but if they’re open to it, then I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it.”
Campaigning through social media has expanded beyond making content from home. Gopalan was one of the 200 influencers who were given credentials to attend the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in August, which is the first time a political campaign has ever involved influencers in their official campaign strategy.
Georgia delegate Avi Dhyani, 18, said that the Harris campaign clearly knows how important the youth vote is in this election because they are targeting young people through social media.
“The [HFP] campaign understands that the youth are making up the largest majority, and we are starting to become massive voting blocks within each state,” Dhyani said. “If they want to win, they need to make sure the youth is engaged.”
Gopalan agreed, saying that it is a “great way” for political campaigns to reach audiences who may not engage with traditional media. She also said that social media is the main way Gen Z obtains information, so it is a good way to encourage them to cast their votes.
“‘Gen Zers’ are watching TikTok to see what’s happening day in and day out,” Gopalan said. “It’s a good way to reach those people, and hopefully those people vote in the upcoming election.”
Outside of social media, Dhyani said the HFP has been focusing on the youth perspective by partnering with numerous youth activist leaders and affinity groups.
“They’ve been working with youth activist leaders, Maxwell Frost, Anderson Clayton and the North Carolina Democrat Party. They have held various training events, and they’re always making sure to keep us updated via email,” Dhyiani said. “The youth is really put front and center in this campaign.”
Dhyani also said that the focus on youth in this campaign is evident with their focus on Brat, a trend on social media that stems from the release of Charli XCX’s new album, “Brat,” where she redefines the term Brat in a positive light. The trend took over social media this summer, as the launch of the album marked the beginning of “Brat Summer.” The Brat album created a movement on social media, with one of the most popular videos tagged #brat receiving over 700,000 likes on TikTok.
HFP rode this wave, frequently using the phrase “Kamala is brat” on their official campaign TikTok, other digital platforms and on their merchandise. They effectively rebranded the campaign with the Brat album’s signature arial font and neon green background.
At the DNC, other Democratic organizations also adopted the Brat-themed branding such as Next Gen America, an organization that aims to bring young voters into the civic engagement process by helping them register to vote and educating them about candidates and policies.
NextGen America’s Communications Director Emily Slatkow said that the youth vote will be the deciding bloc in the coming election, so it is important, now more than ever, to reach out to them. She said social media may be the best way to do so.
The organization is very active online, and they have accounts on all mainstream social media platforms. They work with content creators and other organizations such as Hot Girls Vote and Men’s Voter Power, as well as student athletes.
Slatkow said she has seen more efforts to reach young voters this year than in previous elections, but the major turning point occurred in 2020 when campaigns had to move online due to pandemic restrictions.
“2020 was a major turning point where we were forced to turn our traditional campaigns that would be on the ground online,” Slatkow said. “All of a sudden we were engaging and bringing in an entire community that hadn’t been spoken to in years. Continuing on that momentum and continuing to build on that is going to be helpful.”