CHICAGO — Scores of social media influencers are fighting journalists for access, prestige and workspace at a national convention this week where the Democratic Party is counting on the influencers’ viral online videos to boost Kamala Harris’ US presidential hopes.

The Democratic National Convention (DNC) credentialed more than 200 “content creators” for this week’s four-day celebration of Ms. Harris at the United Center arena, home to Chicago’s basketball and hockey teams.

It’s a first-ever Democratic convention embrace of the power of YouTube, TikTok and Instagram users who reach tens of millions of Americans directly, many of them younger voters who don’t read or watch traditional news.

“We’re giving creators a front row seat to history,” said Matt Hill, senior director of communications for the convention.

The media and information landscape has changed considerably since 2016, with the surge of social media platforms like TikTok, a convention official said in support of the decision.

As of 2023, 83% of US adults use YouTube, 68% use Facebook, 47% use Instagram, and 33% use TikTok, according to Pew Research Center. Half of all US adults get news often or sometimes from social media, Pew found.

Unlike the thousands of journalists with newspapers, news websites and TV and radio networks, influencers receive DNC assistance connecting with Democratic leaders.

Influencers have access to a creator lounge in the United Center and a creator platform section on the convention floor where they can create video content.

The besieged journalism industry, which has lost tens of thousands of jobs from cost-cutting and consolidation over more than a decade, had its space at the convention slashed compared to previous conventions, according to another Pew study.

“These are the worst working conditions of the 20 conventions I have covered,” said Jonathan D. Salant, assistant managing editor of politics at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

“We are restricted from going anywhere near the TV booths to interview people. And the seats/workspace they set aside are so high up that they are unsafe,” Andrew Feinberg, a White House correspondent for The Independent, posted on X.

Qondi Ntini, an influencer who founded the Thirst for Democracy Fund in support of Ms. Harris, posted a series of photos and videos for her 47,400 followers on X and nearly 14,000 on TikTok.

Her postings on X show her at the convention, laughing with Senator Raphael Warnock from Georgia, posing with an aide to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and writing about the star-studded list of speakers at Monday night’s session.

“No one’s replacing anybody,” said Harris campaign digital strategist Rob Flaherty, regarding traditional media and content creators at a Politico event. “But here’s the thing, like voters consume information from more places than ever…. We certainly don’t expect any of those creators who are here to be propagandists for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz,” the Minnesota governor and Harris’ vice presidential running mate.

DIFFERENT EDITING AND PUBLISHING PROCESSES
Influencers and journalists have different editing and publishing processes and different mandates.

While traditional news organizations view themselves as neutral disseminators of current events, with editors and fact-checking standards, content creators have a point of view and typically rely on themselves for any checks and balances.

“I am heavily partisan,” said Josh Helfgott, an influencer who makes content around LGBTQ+ issues and is supportive of Vice President Harris’ bid for president. “There’s no question that the creators here that are invited are supportive of Kamala, mostly, at least all the ones I’ve met.”

When it comes to the information he puts out to his 5.5 million followers on TikTok (or about half the circulation of the New York Times), Mr. Helfgott says: “I’m the editor, I’m the writer, I’m the storyteller, I’m the PR guy,” he said.

Traditional news outlets have been accused of bias through history, and have been particularly vilified by conservatives in recent years, with Republican candidate Donald Trump calling them “the enemy of the people” and “fake news.”

Many left-leaning Americans, meanwhile, say mainstream news coverage of Ms. Harris in particular is sexist and unbalanced.

But Fabian Fellmann, US correspondent for Tages-Anzeiger, a daily newspaper in Switzerland, and for Süddeutsche Zeitung, a daily newspaper in Germany, like many in the industry, does not believe content creation to be a fair replacement.

“They get views on their platforms,” he said, speaking to Reuters next to the creator platform on the United Center’s convention floor. “They get clicks. They get advertisement revenue. We’re journalists. We get a salary that is independent from what we write.”

“I guess that’s the new reality,” he added.

Influencers’ viral videos on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok can help raise enthusiasm among voters who might not be as invested in politics, said Daniel Kreiss, professor of political communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

They can also help with a campaign’s appeal to younger voters, he said.

“So many people are getting their information from social media, I’m a part of a big network of creators who are doing a good job of informing everyone, regardless of political views, right?” said Carlos Eduardo Espina, whose Spanish videos for the Latino immigrant community have drawn 10.2 million followers on TikTok.

The Democrats, particularly the Harris campaign, have already leaned into virality this election cycle.

British pop sensation Charli XCX gave the vice president the moniker “brat,” same as the title of her latest album, and the compliment took off, with the Harris campaign adopting the album’s lime green aesthetic for her “Kamala HQ” X account.

Eve, an influencer at the convention who did not provide her last name, citing safety concerns, said she and her co-creator Pari’s coverage this week will include explaining the Democratic Party’s agenda as it applies to reproductive rights.

She wore a hat with a camouflage pattern that read, “Harris, Walz.” She said she received the hat at a DNC event earlier in the day for creators.

“We especially reach young people,” Eve said. “My hope is, yes, we will have a big effect” in November’s election. — Reuters

TAIPEI — Taiwan’s defense spending will rise 7.7% next year, outpacing expected economic growth, the cabinet said on Thursday, as the island adds more fighter jets and missiles to strengthen deterrence against a rising threat from Beijing.

China, which views democratically-governed Taiwan as its own territory, has ramped up military and political pressure over the past five years to assert those claims, which Taipei strongly rejects.

Taiwan’s cabinet said following a regular weekly meeting that 2025 defense spending would rise 7.7% year on year to T$647 billion ($20.25 billion), accounting for 2.45% of gross domestic product (GDP) — up from 2.38% this year — and exceeding the government’s expectation for economic growth of 3.26% for the year.

The spending includes a special budget worth T$90.4 billion to buy new fighter jets and ramp up missile production. That was part of the military’s extra spending worth T$240 billion announced in 2021 over five years.

Hsieh Chi-hsien, head of the defense ministry’s comptroller bureau, told reporters defense spending reaching 3% of GDP was a goal they were hoping to reach, and that at the moment Taiwan’s defense spending is “growing steadily.”

“We will not join in an arms race with other countries. We will increase (spending) steadily according to our needs,” he said.

Future spending also depends on whether Taiwan could acquire “key and important” equipment, Mr. Hsieh added, without elaborating.

Taiwan’s government has made military modernization a key policy platform and has repeatedly pledged to spend more on its defenses given the rising threat from China, including developing made-in-Taiwan submarines.

China’s air force flies almost daily missions into the skies near Taiwan, and in May staged war games around the island shortly after President Lai Ching-te took office, a man Beijing brands a “separatist.” Mr. Lai rejects China’s sovereignty claims, saying only Taiwan’s people can decide their future.

The budget will still need to be passed by parliament, where the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lost its majority in January elections.

Taiwan’s main opposition party, the Kuomintang, has repeatedly expressed its support for firming up the island’s defenses, though it is currently involved in a stand off with the DPP about contested reforms to give parliament greater oversight powers the government says is unconstitutional.

China is also rapidly modernizing its armed forces, with new aircraft carriers, stealth fighter jets and missiles.

China in March announced a 7.2% rise in defense spending for this year to 1.67 trillion yuan ($234.10 billion) outpacing the economic growth target of around 5% for 2024, though accounting for only some 1.3% of GDP according to analysts.

Successive US administrations have pushed Taiwan to modernize its military and spend more. The United States is Taiwan’s most important arms provider and international backer, despite the absence of diplomatic relations.

Speaking at a security forum in Taipei on Wednesday, Nikki Haley, a United Nations ambassador under the Trump administration, praised Taiwan’s commitment to spending more on defense.

“Other free nations should learn from them, especially many U.S. allies,” she said. —  Reuters