The Democrats are wooing Gen Z by inviting hundreds of social media influencers to the Democratic National Convention.
200 content creators had a blue carpet rolled out for them at the event inside Chicago’s cavernous United Center and were invited to film TikTok videos in a cordoned off ‘creators lounge’ stocked up with refreshments including Kamala Harris cookies.
For the first time influencers were invited to the event to document their experience for their millions of followers, with some even taking to the new ‘creator platform’ stage to give talks.
It is a move that highlights the significance of the Gen Z vote to the Harris Walsz campaign and how utilizing the reach that influencers have is seen as equally important as traditional news coverage.
In fact, journalists found themselves fighting with influencers for seats at the convention with just 46 press stand seats provided, compared to 360 at the Republican National Convention last month.
Model and influencer, Deja Foxx, who worked on Harris’s presidential primary campaign in 2019, was also in attendance
A picture from Deja Foxx’s social media page shows her at the convention
Heather Garner, a political content creator with almost 400,000 TikTok followers, attended the convention
Heather Garner, a political content creator with almost 400,000 TikTok followers, attended the convention and believes influencers are the future of political communication.
She said: ‘There are millions of Gen Z voters who are voting for the very first time,’ she says.
‘And they are not getting their information from the New York Times. They are not getting their information from CNN Cable News or traditional news outlets. It’s on social media.’
Model and influencer, Deja Foxx, who worked on Harris’s presidential primary campaign in 2019, was also in attendance.
The 24-year-old spoke on stage about reproductive rights being ‘the issue of this election’.
She said: ‘Particularly in some swing states like Arizona. It isn’t just about winning the electoral battle. When we see a combination of race and gender-based attacks, it’s about winning the narrative battle because little girls are listening to see what is possible.
A picture from Deja Foxx’s Instagram shows the influencer with a friend announcing that they are throwing a party
Brandy, commonly known by her social media handle @thegenzpublicist, is a 24-year-old influencer from Atlanta who was invited to the convention
A video posted to Brandy’s Instagram account shows her and other influencers at the convention
‘So content creators, like the ones you see here, have the opportunity to shape a generation’s political understanding in this election cycle.’
Brandy, commonly known by her social media handle @thegenzpublicist, is a 24-year-old influencer from Atlanta who was invited to the convention.
She said: ‘I think we’re all on the same level when it comes to policy,’ says Brandy, a 24-year-old influencer from Atlanta.
‘It’s been like three weeks to a month now [since Harris became the nominee], like give my sis a break. She has time, right?
‘But at the same time, I feel like the DNC stage is going to be the perfect opportunity to start laying things out. We saw the economic policy come through.
‘I look forward to seeing more and more, particularly what she’s going to do when it comes to healthcare.’
