The influence of influencers on politics

Social media influencers are no longer just active in advertising and promoting products. An increasing number of influencers are speaking out on socially and politically relevant topics, and their voices carry weight in public communication. They are border crossers who skilfully operate at the transitions between political, journalistic and commercial communication contexts and switch between information and entertainment-oriented content as well as between the spheres of private and public communication. In contrast to commercial influencers, these influencers are also referred to as political online influencers^[11] or called political social media influencers^[2]. With their mix of politics, everyday life and product recommendations, these new media actors achieve a high level of attention, especially among younger population groups^[3]. Due to their enormous reach in social media channels and their communication at eye level, they are sometimes recognised as having the ability to interest people in politics who otherwise hardly consume any political news^[7]. It is assumed that political topics and information find their way into the media repertoires and everyday routines of media use of people who are considered to be underserved by political news via politically active influencers on digital channels, almost en passant^[6]. Political influencers can therefore have a positive influence on political participation and political decision-making processes due to their potential bridging function between political content and people who are not actually interested in politics.

However, such potentially positive influences are also offset by potentially negative influences. The concerns relate, for example, to the fact that content is not produced according to professional journalistic standards^[14]. The separation of opinion and reporting, the four-eyes principle or journalistic diligence are journalistic quality criteria that influencers do not have to feel obliged to fulfil. On the contrary, their communication is often opinionated, close to everyday life and emotional^[12]. Hidden opinion-making or the deliberate dissemination of misinformation for political or commercial motives by political influencers is also being discussed as a potential danger.

It is not yet possible to conclusively assess whether the influence of influencers on politics and society is more positive or more negative. Firstly, this is due to the fact that political influencers are a relatively new phenomenon. For this reason, they have not yet developed a fixed role in public communication and there are only isolated studies on their self-image, their communication content or their users (e.g. ^{[9], [12], [13], [14]}). It is therefore not yet possible to speak of a standardised state of research. Secondly, the landscape of political influencers is very diverse, meaning that findings for certain types of influencers cannot be transferred to other types.

Comparability with analogue phenomena

In principle, political influencers and their influence on politics are a digital phenomenon that only became possible when new communication roles and new media professions developed through the socio-technical ecosystems of digital media and platforms. Digital media have given rise to completely new fields of work and activity and an explosion of diversity on the provider side of public communication ^[1]. What is special about new digital communication roles such as political influencers is that the transition between private-personal communication and public-professional communication is becoming blurred. This ambiguity as to whether influencers’ opinion pieces are journalism or private expression of opinion contributes to the concern described above that influencers can have a negative influence on the processes of political opinion formation. The ambiguity or hybridity of communication roles distinguishes digital political communication from analogue political communication.

However, the success of political influencers and their influence on politics can be explained to a certain extent by communication science concepts that have been developed to explain non-digital phenomena. These include the concept of the opinion leader and the concept of parasocial interaction. The concept of the opinion leader was developed by sociologist Paul F. Lazarsfeld back in 1944, and opinion leaders are understood to be people who are regarded by those around them as competent, well-informed and credible advisors, thereby influencing other people in their opinions. Parasocial interaction refers to the phenomenon of media recipients entering into an imaginary and one-sided as-if interaction with media persons. If the bond between the media user and the media person is strengthened through constant contact with the media person, this is referred to as a parasocial relationship. Due to the special relationship, media users trust the parasocial relationship partners, and since political influencers comment on political issues, they are also referred to as parasocial opinion leaders^[8] who are able to influence the political knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of their audience to a particular degree^[5],[11].

Social relevance

At present, the influence of influencers on society and politics can still be considered low to medium-threshold. At the moment, traditional journalistic offerings are more relevant to the majority of the population when it comes to political information and forming political opinions. However, it is to be expected that the influence of influencers in the political-media public will increase. Influencers are hugely important in the media repertoires of young people and it is unlikely that this group will fundamentally change their media habits as they get older. Traditional media such as the press and radio, on the other hand, are struggling with falling circulation figures, declining ratings and falling advertising revenue (see e.g. ^[10]), whereas the penetration of digital media into all areas of society continues to progress.

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