Influencer Mikey Angelo emphasized the urgency of voting in a recent Instagram post, stating, "There are only 22 days more to vote, so like seriously go vote it’s so important to me that we mobilize our community." This highlights the powerful role influencers play in reaching young voters and encouraging civic engagement.
The current regulatory landscape exempts influencers from disclosing their paid endorsements for political content, creating confusion about what is genuine support versus sponsored posts. This gap has led to a mix of authentic expression and paid promotion on social media platforms, a trend that could muddy the information ecosystem.
As nearly 40% of young Americans get their news from TikTok, the influence of social media creators has increased dramatically, offering a new avenue for political campaigning that rivals traditional celebrity endorsements. The Pew Research Center noted that US adults under 30 tend to trust social media information as much as national news outlets.
The Federal Election Commission's determination that influencers are not required to disclose paid endorsements for political content underlines the need for clearer regulations in the evolving landscape of political advertising. Users often cannot discern between organic support and paid promotion when these messages intermingle on their feeds.
Collection
[
|
...
]