Content creators own the week at Democratic National Convention

(CN) — Democrats sought to court the vital youth vote this week at the Democratic National Convention, putting social media front and center in their strategy to bring the party platform to the younger generation.

“It’s on us to organize in our communities — and on our ‘for you’ pages,” Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said during remarks on the convention floor Wednesday night, alluding to algorithm-curated feeds nearly ubiquitous among social media platforms.

It was an on-the-nose aphorism, but Shapiro’s invocation of social media as a tool for getting out the vote belied the broader Democratic philosophy on the youth vote as delegates, lawmakers and celebrities descended on Chicago this week to nominate Vice President Kamala Harris for president.

In the weeks leading up to the convention, the Democratic National Committee issued more than 200 media credentials for content creators. The party even set up an account on streaming service Twitch, where it broadcast Harris’ acceptance speech live Thursday night.

Some influencers took the spotlight during the DNC, such as Texas abortion rights advocate and political activist Olivia Julianna. The 21-year-old spoke from the convention floor Wednesday, calling attention to Republican efforts to restrict voter access in the Lone Star State and elsewhere.

“Donald Trump’s Republicans are making it harder for us to vote, but we won’t let them get away with it,” she said, flanked by a group of other young Democrats.

The DNC’s focus on influencers and content creators was clear to anyone walking Chicago’s United Center throughout the week. On the arena floor, a specialized dais was set up to give creators a full, unobstructed view of the main stage. Throughout the hall, event organizers set up backdrops emblazoned with the DNC logo and bathed in studio lighting for filming purposes — though traditional media used the space as well.

Content creators also had access to a restricted-access “creators lounge” on the arena’s first floor, where social media stars mingled.

For some creators, the DNC was an opportunity to engage with the Democratic platform.

“I want to hear what’s important to them,” Philadelphia lifestyle TikToker Kory Aversa said.

Aversa, known on social media as Philly Publicist, told Courthouse News on the convention sidelines Wednesday night that he was particularly looking forward to hearing from the party on issues such as the economy, immigration and LGBTQ rights.

For other social media stars, the convention just made good content.

Influencer Merrick Hanna, who boasts more than 32 million followers on TikTok, posted a clip Thursday night showing off the size of the crowd inside the United Center. Beginning with a shot of him posted in front of the mostly empty stands, he swiped his hand across the screen and cut to a view of the packed audience.

There was also no shortage of news content creators at this week’s convention. Hasan Piker, formerly of the left-leaning media organization The Young Turks and now a full-time streamer on Twitch, was spotted milling about the United Center. Youtuber and erstwhile news TikToker Philip DeFranco was also seen at the convention.

Vitus Spehar, known on TikTok as UnderTheDesk News, was posted up outside the DNC’s creator lounge before proceedings got underway Thursday evening.

Spehar, who explains the news to their 3 million TikTok followers quite literally from underneath a desk, declined to answer questions about their experience at the convention or about the level of access they had to notable Democratic figures as a credentialed creator.

It wouldn’t be UnderTheDesk News’ first time working closely with Democrats; Spehar was one of a group of social media figures invited to the White House in 2022 to attend briefings on the Joe Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act.

While influencers enjoyed private hospitality and floor access, traditional media at times struggled to find workspace or find their way into the main arena. As Harris prepared to address the convention Thursday, event staff closed entrances to the convention floor, saying the fire marshal had declared the venue at capacity.

One reporter told Courthouse News he heard at least three different reasons why he wasn’t permitted to enter the arena, adding that staff were only letting in delegates, VIPs and members of Congress.

Farnoush Amiri, Associated Press congressional reporter and co-chair of the congressional Standing Committee of Correspondents, said Thursday night that the DNC had told United Center security that reporters leaving the venue to use the restroom at the designated outdoor media pen could not be guaranteed reentry.

“I’ve never experienced this as a journalist in my life,” Amiri wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

And during the vice president’s speech, the United Center’s upper stands — which housed assigned press seating — were full of reporters forced to stand or sit on the steep concrete stairs between the rows. Some journalists fretted that the crowded space could pose a safety hazard in the darkened arena.

Despite the complaints of traditional media, delegates at the DNC said they were pleased with the focus on social media creators, pointing out that it could help capture the crucial youth vote.

“I’ve met a couple of them,” said Michael Golojuch Jr., a delegate from Hawaii. He contended that including influencers in the convention proceedings was “a great thing.”

“You’ve got to embrace it,” he said. “If you don’t, if you don’t evolve, you’ll go the way of the dodo.”

Linda Henry, a delegate from Missouri, said she was concerned by the idea that young people were primarily getting their news from social media. But that’s how people are communicating now, she observed.

“I would like for them to have a reliable source and to know that it’s a reliable source, but at the same time that’s what they’re listening to and we need to get through,” Henry said.

Courthouse News’ Dave Byrnes contributed to this report.

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