April Eichmeier, assistant professor of emerging media at the University of St. Thomas College of Arts and Sciences, recently spoke with the Financial Times about how Gen Z’s quick, authentic online interactions are changing political campaigns in 2024, with social media making it possible for content to go viral in minutes.
From the story:
Harris’ digital operation, which is about 250 strong, has a rapid response team of about 15 young people. Well versed in internet speak, they trawl the web looking to latch on to trends just as they are gathering momentum, collaborating through Slack channels and messaging apps.
The content goes through a light approval process, with an emphasis on trial and error. Some posts mock Trump for being “weird” and “out of it”, or feature clips of Democrats “dragging” or “clapping back” at his policies. In others, Harris is typically laughing or “sharing her love for Gen Z”.
The goal, according to one person familiar with the campaign’s strategy, is to create “permission structures”, or make influencers feel comfortable enough to post positively about Harris, which means their followers feel able to do the same.
“Only having Gen Z do that is authentic,” said April Eichmeier, assistant professor in the emerging media department at the University of St Thomas in Minnesota. “A tweet from the Clinton campaign used to take days. That’s not how you run a campaign in a world where something can go viral in 15 minutes.”
The success of Harris’ digital campaign has irked Trump, who has insisted on his Truth Social app that he has “the greatest social media program in history”.
But experts note there are fewer Republican politicians on TikTok, partly because some have taken issue with its Chinese ownership and described the app as “digital fentanyl” designed to destroy the minds of young Americans.
