Today is a very exciting day! In addition to revamping this newsletter, we’re also launching a new project today that will profile some of the biggest names in online political influence from both the right and the left.
Last week, I crowdsourced the names of top meme accounts, TikTok users, and podcasters across the political spectrum to create this interactive list. You’ll probably see some familiar faces in your own social media feeds. But the fragmentation and personalization of social media these days makes it nearly impossible for the average internet user to keep up with everyone. This list serves as a sample of what’s out there in the world of digital politics, from micro-influencers to A-listers.
Politics has never been stranger, and more online. WIRED Politics Institute A guide to navigating the vortex of extremism, conspiracy and disinformation.
Online political figures
In 2024, influencer marketing has gone mainstream in US politics. The White House, Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign, former President Donald Trump’s campaign, the Democratic National Committee, and the Republican National Committee have all built vast networks of influencers and content creators. In the case of presidential candidates, their influencers accompany them to rallies and fundraisers across the country, giving the candidates access to their vast followings. An entire mini-industry of political creators has boomed, with companies like Good Influence working to connect creators directly with the campaigns and issues they care about.
What’s great about this list is that it recognizes how impossible it is to cover everyone in the digital political space. Instead, think of this project as a chocolate sampler packed with the best examples of every type of political creator online this season. Some are much smaller creators focused on specific state legislatures. Some are billionaires, like Elon Musk. Hover over someone’s name to see their primary platform, how many followers they have, what they do, how they’re connected to each other, and their connection to the presidential campaign.
As we were building this, we noticed some big differences in the types of creators Democrats and Republicans were willing to work with online. Specifically, right-leaning creators tended to have much larger audiences than those working with left-leaning campaigns and organizations. I thought this indicated that Democrats were spending more time seeking out individuals who would reach specific demographic groups that could be important to the election outcome.
Interestingly, this finding is consistent with how each political party has spent money on digital advertising for years. Since I started covering this space, I’ve spoken to many digital advertising experts who often say that Republicans tend to target ads statewide, while Democrats like to target ads to specific zip codes. This is just a general trend, not necessarily a rule (remember Cambridge Analytica?), but it may explain the difference in creators’ followings. We’ll see in November if bigger is truly better in this regard.
