The Kamala Harris campaign rolled out the blue carpet for social media influencers at the Democratic National Convention this week, hoping that they can help get out the vote to beat Donald Trump.
Stars of Instagram and TikTok were feted with free drinks, yacht parties and full VIP access, among other special treatment that was not given to the traditional press at the political convention — which felt more like a festival, at times — in Chicago.
“People have to realize that a lot of these creators have larger audiences than CNN, The New York Times, Univision, Telemundo, ABC,” said Benjamin Zamora, a former journalist who left the news media to work as an influencer online, where he has 6.3 million followers across platforms.
He spoke on the floor of Chicago’s United Center, where rooms have been set aside to pamper influencers with spreads of wine and prime-rib sandwiches.
It …