From hashtags to ballots: Conceptualizing political influencers and evaluating their impact on election outcomes

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Using social media data, the behavior of influencers on Instagram was examined in the run-up to the 2021 general election.

Key findings:

Influencers increasingly politicize themselvesand their content and make concrete election recommendations as the election draws closer.

Schwemmer, C., & Riedl, M. (2025). From hashtags to ballots: Conceptualizing political influencers and evaluating their impact on election outcomes. PLoS ONE, 20(5), e0321592–e0321592. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0321592