"The study was conducted with 4,716 Americans aged between 18 and 45, most of whom were randomly assigned a list of progressive content creators to follow. Over the course of five months, from August to December 2024, these creators produced nonpartisan content designed to educate followers rather than explicitly advocate for a specific political viewpoint. The results showed that exposure to these progressive-minded creators not only increased general political knowledge, but also shifted followers' policy and partisan views to the left."
"But while Trump was speculating about alien life on Mars with Rogan, he had a team of acolytes appearing on dozens, if not hundreds, of much smaller niche podcasts hosted by right-wing content creators who typically don't talk about politics. This is how, just six days before the election, Kash Patel, the man now struggling to run the FBI, ended up appearing on the Deplorable Discussions livestream, a fringe, QAnon-infused show hosted on a platform called Pilled."
Donald Trump and associates used appearances on both major and niche podcasts to influence voters, including acolytes appearing on dozens of small right-wing shows. Kash Patel appeared on a fringe QAnon-infused livestream six days before the election. Social media creators who do not typically discuss politics demonstrated strong ability to sway audiences. A randomized experiment with 4,716 Americans aged 18–45 ran from August to December 2024. Most participants were assigned progressive content creators who produced nonpartisan educational material. Exposure increased political knowledge and shifted policy and partisan views leftward, while a placebo group moved significantly rightward.
Read at WIRED
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]