celeb endorsement Flashcards
point
Social media can influence political engagement by using celebrity endorsements to spark interest.
explain
Celebrities, with their large online followings, can sway public opinion by using their platforms to endorse political candidates, share opinions, and encourage followers to vote.
example
For example, during the 2024 U.S. election, Taylor Swift, with over 280 million Instagram followers, used her platform to endorse Kamala Harris. Taylor Swift voiced her reasons for supporting Kamala Harris as well as strongly encouraging those that can vote to do so.
analysis
This example shows how social media can influence political engagement, as she used her platform to reach millions of people, especially young voters, who now, may be more inclined to participate in political processes because a celebrity they admire encourages them to do so.
rebuttal point
Even though celebrity endorsements can get a lot of people talking about politics, they don’t always go deep into the real issues that affect regular voters.
rebuttal explain
Celebrities live a different lifestyle to the average voters, this means that their reasons for voting for a candidate is likely to atleast partially differentiates from the reasons the general public may have.
rebuttal example
For example, while Taylor Swift supports a candidate like Kamala Harris for reasons such as shared views on womens rights or climate change, which are still relevant to the majority of voters, but those reasons might not match the concerns of someone who’s more worried about personal individual local issues, like healthcare or jobs.
rebuttal analysis
While celebrity endorsements can bring attention to an election, they may not offer the kind of detailed, issue-based engagement that voters truly need to make informed decisions.
conclusion
Overall, celebrity endorsements plays a significant role in increasing political engagement by getting people talking about politics and encouraging them to vote, but these endorsements are not always relatable to the general public, as celebrities often live lifestyles and have priorities that differ from the general public.