14. Celebrity Politics

Question 1

how can celebrities engage?

Answer 1

Celebrities can engage in politics by entering politics themselves, endorsing a candidate, or trying to influence policy.

Question 2

celebrities as candidates

Answer 2

there is an impact on name recognition if the field is crowded with many unknown candidates: the celebrity stands out. Celebrity status also affects the number of preference votes, especially for local elections, because the candidates are then very unknown.

However, journalists tend to take celebrities very unseriously (clown coverage), so the impact disappears when you look specifically at political coverage.

celebrity stands out / but celebreties taken unseriously

Question 3

celebrity endorsement

Answer 3

endorsements for ‘get out to vote’ work, depending on the target audience (low turnout, so there is a lot to improve) and celebrity credibility.

Question 4

celebrities for policy change

Answer 4

public opinion does not see celebrities as a trusted source, neither do politicians, but they like the attention they generate.

Question 5

bandwagon effect

Answer 5

when Oprah endorsed Obama, showed that endorsements do not generate a more favourable opinion of the candidate, but voters do get the feeling that the candidate is more likely to win, which is why they are more likely to vote for them

Question 6

celebrity endorsement and political interest

Answer 6

endorsements have a positive effect when voters have low political interest, but a negative effect when voters have high political interest

Question 7

negative effects of celebrity politics

Answer 7

They do not have traditional mechanisms for accountability, but they do have a reputation that can be damaged. Whether this happens, depends on the reputation itself, because sometimes a celebrity is expected to speak up.

Sometimes, a celebrity that is controversial endorses a candidate. The most convincing response then is stressing that the endorsement was beyond your control and that you disagree with the celebrity on the topic or cause of their bad reputation.

reputation and controversial endorsement

Question 8

why are celebrities valuable?

Answer 8

Celebrities are valuable for political campaigns because they have ongoing public and media recognition, they have a dedicated following, they have commercial clout and can therefore help to generate money, they have the capacity to draw attention and promote, and they have an elite network.

recognition / dedicated following / commercial clout / generate money / draw attention / elite network