Influencers will have the chance to be a little more influential when the Democratic National Convention (DNC) comes to Chicago in August. Convention organizers agreed to credential social media personalities in the same way as traditional media in an effort to reach newer — and younger — audiences ahead of the November elections.
Influencers who qualify will obtain the same level of access and information as traditional media. The DNC creator registration page notes that “Americans continue to consume information and content in new and changing ways.” The credentials of those selected will give content creators access to isolated areas during the four-day convention. The DNC says it will also help accredited creators with any logistical assistance to help with their coverage.
The DNC, White House and Biden campaign did not respond to questions from The Hill for more information about their goals. Former President Trump’s team also declined to respond.
The Biden administration has notably embraced online influencers — content creators with sometimes large followings on platforms like TikTok, Instagram and YouTube — and hosted regular meetings and updates at the White House.
Axios reported last year that Biden’s team planned to “lean on hundreds of social media ‘influencers’ who would tout Biden’s record — and could soon have their own White House briefing room.”
Biden’s campaign joined TikTok earlier this year and pledged to remain on the platform despite resistance.
“When the stakes are so high in the election, we will use every tool we have to reach young voters where they are,” a Biden campaign official at the time told The Hill.
TikTok reaches more than 100 million regular users in the United States on a daily basis.
But Biden’s concerns about the viral video-sharing app, which has ties to China’s communist government through its parent company ByteDance, have soured some young people on his efforts. TikTok is fighting a federal ban in court, arguing that it violates the First Amendment. Lawmakers, including Sen. Josh Hawley, a Missouri Republican who is seen as a potential rising GOP star, have been instrumental in the fight to pass a ban if the Chinese company doesn’t sell its investments in the app.
“TikTok has become a haven for anti-Semitic content, a haven for propaganda, for genocide,” Hawley said on the Senate floor last year. “No matter how virulent and offensive this content is, that is not a reason to ban it. The real reason to ban TikTok is that it is a spy app for the Chinese communist government.”
The Trump campaign joined TikTok in June.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
