The Democratic National Convention is crawling with content creators this week. That’s because DNC organizers have issued more than 200 press credentials to online influencers, promising them “wide-ranging access to events and people traditionally provided only to the press,” according to the New York Times. That level of access is unprecedented for social media stars at a major party convention, according to the Times. The Republican National Convention also credentialed more than 70 influencers as part of a content creator program designed to attract younger voters.
But the push from both parties to leverage “virality” to reach younger voters, communicate information and shape political narratives is starting to look less like experimental publicity than a campaign norm, experts say. “These are people with an aggregate audience in the tens of millions,” says John Wihbey, an associate professor of media innovation and technology at Northeastern University. “It’s a no-brainer.”
