How TikTokers went VIP at the DNC

At last month’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago, delegates, guests, and reporters jostled their way through the crowded hallways at the United Center. While politicians gave speeches, journalists from newspapers and magazines typed out stories and sought to snag in-person interviews.

But some attendees, bearing a “content creator” credential, were able to slip away from the crowds and dip into a private lounge with window access to the stage. Convention staff kept snacks supplied while the creators posed near branded walls, charged their electronic devices, or chatted with peers. The lounge was one of the many perks the DNC afforded roughly 200 content creators—social media influencers who create videos and other media for their online followers.

“It’s weird getting this intimate with politicians where you can be in these small council meetings that are mostly for the press,” said Drew Swartz, a content creator and student with the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He drew cartoons of various convention speakers and council meetings. “It’s fancy. I’m not used to having people pave my way. I got to walk the floor earlier today. They’re spoiling us.”

But while the content creators enjoyed the unusual level of access—Vice President Kamala Harris recorded three interviews with content creators during the convention—the arrangement provoked tension between the social media vanguard and traditional media reporters, some of whom struggled to gain access to the same council meetings that Swartz attended. The VIP treatment for attendees like Swartz highlighted the priority Democratic Party strategists have placed this year on reaching social media users on platforms like TikTok, which claims some 170 million active U.S. users.

At the DNC, organizers said they want to capitalize on social media’s reach. “We are leveling the playing field between content creators and traditional media, and ensuring that more Americans than ever before are able to experience and engage with this critical part of our Democratic process,” said Cayana Mackey-Nance, DNC Committee director of digital strategy, in a public statement about the decision to credential social media influencers. Creators said they saw an avenue to teach their audiences about the party through explainer videos but also humorous content like their outfits and trending dances.

“I think traditional media is feeling a little jealous or maybe resentful of the access we have,” said creator Blair Imani Ali. “But they need to understand that we support ourselves through content creation, we don’t get a huge corporation to pay our way.”

Like many of the content creators in Chicago that week, Imani Ali applied to attend through a special application after the DNC announced it would invite hundreds of social media influencers, even if they typically did not produce political content. She previously worked as a press officer for Planned Parenthood and runs a TikTok and Instagram page called Smarter in Seconds. In 90-second videos, she says, she educates her followers about topics like reproductive health and disabilities policies. At the DNC, she branched out to include short interviews with key speakers like former Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards.

Imani Ali had to pay for her flight, but she said the DNC offered her free lodging at nearby hotels, the private lounges, an exclusive platform on the convention floor, all meals, and a scholarship for travel costs. Convention organizers also provided content creators a stockpile of extra equipment, like charging devices, ring lights, and gimbals to hold their phones. During each night of the convention, a different influencer spoke either from the stage or from the floor platform.

Meanwhile, despite approving credentials for 15,000 media members, convention organizers provided fewer than 200 dedicated press seats inside the United Center arena—fewer than were made available at the 2016 Democratic convention or this year’s Republican National Convention. The Standing Committee of Correspondents, which represents journalists, complained about the reduced seating, warning it could “hinder journalists’ ability to cover the historic nature of this convention.”

Traditional reporters hoping to attend council meetings sometimes saw their digital RSVP forms go without reply, and some had to stand outside the doors waiting for organizers to determine if they would still allow media inside.

Swartz said he was not impressed with the reporters who did attend the daily press briefings with DNC organizers. He wanted more debate over issues like Gaza and the party’s stance on labor issues. He said most mainstream media reporters only asked about the campaign’s response to the latest polls.

“They just seem like they’re bored to be here, like it’s just a job,” Swartz said. “And they ask easy questions that let the campaign dodge real issues.”

Asked whether he asked the hard questions instead, Swartz said, “Oh no, I’m way too nervous.”

Other content creators were more familiar with political and interview formats. Podcaster Fred Wellman claimed on X that he attended some special interest meetings where he saw no other mainstream media. In a series of widely shared tweets, he complained that none of the credentialed press at the convention bothered to cover a veterans and military families meeting that he attended. WORLD did attend the meeting, yet many social media users took the claims as evidence it’s time to shift consumers to social media to receive news from independent creators instead.

“I think that we need to start looking at content creation as being part of the kaleidoscope of journalism, because we’re citizen journalists in many ways,” Imani Ali said. “We are providing our own perspective and our own unique lens into this. And instead of looking at it as traditional media versus new media, it’s all media, and it’s all us being able to deliver information.”

Colleges are picking up on the shift in news engagement. Arizona State University now offers a minor for journalism content creation, and the University of Texas at Austin launched a Digital Media Influencer degree in August. Both programs promise to equip students with technical skills to post videos and interpersonal training on how to build an audience around themselves. According to Goldman Sachs estimates, the content creator market stands at $250 billion now but could jump to $480 billion by 2027.

At the DNC, Democratic strategist Keith Edwards, a content creator with 152,000 followers, told a CNN reporter he expected “exponential” growth for similar engagement at future political conventions.

Another political strategist, Annie Wu Henry, similarly told Politico, “As this space continues to grow and it becomes more and more embedded into our lives whether we like it or not, all of our politicians are going to have to embrace meeting people in these spaces.”

Though some creators at the convention complained that traditional media is too biased, they also balked at the idea of providing the same exposure to the Republican National Convention. I asked the content creators if they would attend the RNC if that convention also decided to expand access in 2028.

“Absolutely not,” Imani Ali said. “No, as a black, queer, Muslim woman I would not feel safe in that space. It’s been interesting here having to determine how to take my content creation style and fit it into a context of the DNC while also making it engaging to my audience, who have various feelings about the Democratic Party, but helping them feel like we can get our voices in. We can be heard, and we can have a variety of perspectives and have a big tent and still move things forward.”

Swartz said he could see himself attending the RNC, but not enthusiastically. “The Republican Party is too slimy for me to endorse,” he said. “It’s a lot easier to be here because I’m excited about the prospect of labor gaining a presidentially endorsed foothold in the U.S. I’m excited about the policies the Democratic Party is pushing.”