Don’t Forget to Like, Subscribe and Vote: Biden’s Rocky Influencer Courtship
Don’t Forget to Like, Subscribe and Vote: Biden’s Rocky Influencer Courtship
The Biden campaign is trying to work its way into social media feeds. But the young, left-leaning voices that control the conversation aren’t making it easy.
Influencers have been given exclusive tours of the White House and campaign headquarters and been invited to briefings with policy advisers. They’ve been wined and dined at lavish parties in New York and at State of the Union watch parties in the White House. And they’ve been promised extraordinary access to party officials at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August, where for the first time ever they’ll be given a special room of their own, outfitted with quiet spaces for making videos.
At least one has been offered an interview with the president at the convention, but said he was asked not to bring up Gaza.
Priorities USA, a super PAC supporting Mr. Biden’s campaign, has pledged to spend at least $1 million on influencers, some of whom will be paid to share talking points online. The Democratic National Committee is using a smartphone app to train thousands of volunteers on how to share content in their social networks.
Shock. Surprise. Confusion. Three things I don't feel in any way that the octogenarian centrist is struggling to astroturf enthusiasm with young people on social media, without attempting in any way to address the concerns of young Americans.
Biden needs to do better. They're not his votes until he wins them. He's not getting the youth vote by default, just because his opponent is a bigoted, fascist rapist and convicted felon.
I really can't believe how bad the DNC is at this.
Access to party officials is great, but make sure they have access to policy experts as well, who can get down into the nitty gritty details of national strategy and detailed policy considerations with them, even if it takes hours or days to get through all the material. Transparency is very important, even on very complex issues.