Right after the recent presidential debate in the United States, Tyler Swift, a global celebrity, published a post on Instagram, where she has over 280 million followers, supporting Kamala Harris. But does it really matter whom she is voting for? Short Answer, probably not!
Likes are unreliable indicators of a celebrity’s ability to persuade voters.The majority of Ms Swift’s fan base already agrees with her political views: they are largely young, female, and Democratic, according to Morning Consult polling data. Last month, YouGov, another pollster, polled Trump backers and found that they had a much lower impression of Ms Swift than Harris voters.
According to a public poll, the majority of people do not like celebrities to be involved in politics. In 2022, 45% of Americans told YouGov/The Economist that they opposed celebrities making political declarations, while 42% supported them. In the 2018 midterm elections, Tylor Swift supported Democrat Phil Bredesen for Tennessee Senate; he lost to Republican Marsha Blackburn. Beyoncé, a musical singer with 119 million Instagram followers at the time, endorsed Democrat Beto O’Rourke for the Texas Senate. He too lost to Ted Cruz, a Republican.
Celebrity endorsements have a particularly strong impact on voter registration. When Ms Swift announced her support for Ms Harris on Instagram, she included a link to vote.gov, which directed over 300,000 users to the federal voter registration site within hours. Celebrity endorsements are unlikely to influence voters’ opinions. But they may increase turnout.
Source: Economist
Photo: The Newyork Times
