Celebrities have a “powerful” ability to influence elections and increase voter turnout, a Harvard study found.
“While some polling shows that people claim they aren’t influenced by celebrity voices when it comes to politics, more rigorous evidence indicates that these voices are incredibly powerful,” reads a study conducted by Harvard’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation. “Nonprofits report higher rates of online voter registration or poll worker sign-ups when a celebrity promotes these calls to action. This potential impact is why nonprofits, candidates, and elected officials are increasingly seeking ways to engage celebrities.”
Researchers working on the study analyzed the approaches of 15 managers, publicists, nonprofit partners, philanthropic advisers and celebrities, including well-known names such as Hailey Bieber, David Dobrik, Billie Eilish, Trevor Noah, Taylor Swift, Kerry Washington and The Roots co-founder and drummer Questlove.
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“Celebrities, like all of us, face choices about how to engage in democracy. For example, they can serve as surrogates for political candidates, helping to ‘rally the base’ or reach new audiences,” the study reads, adding that there is also evidence that “celebrities can help with candidate fundraising, attracting large crowds to political events or volunteer shifts, which draws press attention.”
Overall, the researchers found that celebrities are motivated to activism not only because of their beliefs, but because it can also be “good for their brands,” something that was supported by a previous study on the issue.
“It helps your audience stay connected to you—a connection based on values, which humanizes an artist and a celebrity in a way that the audience then feels like they know you. And then, when your next film or album comes out, this audience that’s connected to you wants to support you, wants to show up,” Questlove’s Manager Dawn White told researchers.
The study argues that the impact celebrities have can be massive, pointing to a 2018 Instagram story posted by Swift to her 112 million followers to register to vote at vote.org. That one post led to 65,000 new registrants in 24 hours and 250,000 over 72 hours.
Swift has continued to make similar posts over the years since, while her following has more than doubled to 283 million over the same time period.
Researchers found that celebrities have a more profound impact on “younger generations,” which are not as easy to reach through traditional “mainstream media and other get-out-the-vote efforts.”
“Their control of and presence on social media positions them as centralized sources of information to be tapped into and utilized by those looking to increase voter participation,” the study reads.
However, the research also found that celebrity impact has been limited by a lack of organization, including a lack of formal programs that would allow them to test and track their efforts.
“Consequently, there is an extraordinary opportunity and potential to grow, mature, and formalize celebrity civic engagement efforts, which can significantly impact civic culture,” the study included. “That being said, the available data indicate that some approaches work better than others.”
