Influencers Lead the Push for Vaccines. NewsWire

NewsWire: 9/2/21

• Federal and state authorities are recruiting an “influencer army” to help get more young Americans vaccinated. They hope that TikTok stars and Twitch streamers can help drown out vaccine and Covid-19 misinformation. (The New York Times)
• NH: When 1950s public health officials wanted to convince more young people to get the polio vaccine, they called on Elvis. 70 years later, the Biden administration has called on teen superstar Olivia Rodrigo to do the same for the Covid-19 vaccine. But this time, she’s backed by a veritable army of “everyday” influencers pushing the same message, from TikTok stars to Twitch streamers to YouTubers.
• The White House recruited more than 50 of these influencers to convince their millions of followers to get vaccinated. Some state and local governments have joined in as well and are offering stipends to local “micro” influencers for promoting vaccinations.
• All governments, to some extent, engage in public service campaigns. Everyone remembers Smokey the Bear saying “only you can prevent forest fires.” But this is different. It’s a campaign to motivate individuals to get behind a cause that is being led by the equivalent of trusted friends. These efforts call to mind China’s attempts to shore up youth patriotism (see “The Rising Chinese Youth Generation”)--as well as the propaganda campaigns our own government waged during WWI and II.
• The influencer army is intended to counter the flood of misinformation about vaccines and Covid-19 on social media. In short, officials have decided to fight propaganda with propaganda. We will surely see more of this on-the-ground approach coming. Previous generations recruited big celebrities and artists to rally Americans, but now, the most convincing source is ordinary people. At a time when skepticism of institutions and experts is so high, many people are more inclined to believe their friends, neighbors, and their favorite homegrown social media stars.