The Effect of Social Influencers on Electoral Outcomes: Evidence from a Natural Experiment
Hybrid Event: Join Zoom Meeting: https://bsg.zoom.us/j/91663686066?pwd=QWNHVEY4YzhWMUtvMHZmN0RKQWsyQT09; Meeting ID: 916 6368 6066; Passcode: 322203
Do social influencers affect election outcomes? Social influencers can reach millions of people through social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. However, research on social influencers is scarce and so far largely limited to marketing research. I argue that social influencers can influence elections through their role as digital opinion leaders and their power to shape the media agenda. Empirically, I will leverage an event that occurred during the 2019 European election campaign. Eight days before the 2019 EP election, the German social influencer Rezo published a video in which he severely attacks the governing party that was watched by over 11.5 million users until the election. I will identify the causal effect of this video on the election outcome by relying on a differences-in-differences design. The results of this study have major implications for our understanding of the relationship between social media, electoral competition and political representation.
Date: 3 May 2022, 12:30 (Tuesday, 2nd week, Trinity 2022)
Venue: Nuffield College, New Road OX1 1NF
Venue Details: Clay Room
Speaker: Heike Klüver (Humboldt University Berlin)
Organising department: Nuffield College
Organisers: Ezequiel Gonzalez Ocantos (Nuffield College), Pepper Culpepper (Nuffield College), Professor Jane Green (Nuffield College)
Organiser contact email address: maxine.collett@nuffield.ox.ac.uk
Part of: Nuffield College Political Science Seminars
Booking required?: Not required
Audience: Members of the University only
Editor: Maxine Collett