Celebrity sway: how the famous galvanize real civic engagement

Celebrities getting involved with politics is nothing new, but recent data has revealed that the rich and famous have a more palpable impact on elections than you might think. This revelation comes as celebrities on both sides of the political spectrum are working to endorse causes — and candidates — ahead of the 2024 election.

The study, published by Harvard University’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance, analyzed the ways in which celebrity participation in politics leads to more civic engagement in the United States. This is particularly seen in efforts to increase voter registration, where the U.S. still lags behind many other developed countries. But there are also other ways in which celebrities play a role in the political landscape.

What role do celebrities have in the political discourse?

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,” the Harvard study said. This is notably prevalent in the aforementioned efforts to increase voter registration, as “nonprofits report higher rates of online voter registration or poll worker sign-ups when a celebrity promotes these calls to action.” It was determined, based on 15 participants in the study, that “celebrities who use their platforms to encourage people to vote can not only increase participation but also strengthen their brands.”

There have been “numerous examples of measurably impactful celebrity civic activations in recent years” through voter registration, said the study. In 2018, Taylor Swift, whose impact on the political zeitgeist has been well reported, shared a “single Instagram Story asking her then-112 million followers to register to vote at www.vote.org.” The organization “reported adding 65,000 new registrants on the site in 24 hours. In 72 hours, they’d added 250,000 new registrants,” all as a result of Swift’s Instagram post.

In a similar fashion, another pop star, Ariana Grande, also “promoted voter registration by setting up booths at her concerts on the American leg in 2019,” and “signed up more than 33,000 voters and broke the all-time record for the most tour registrations of her partner organization,” said the study. Rapper Megan Thee Stallion also made headlines when she performed during a Kamala Harris rally in Atlanta.

While the power of social media was one of the main sticking points, the study “also explored celebrity campaigns across mediums, including television, documentaries, merchandising and public service announcements,” said CNN. It “looked at data from celebrity initiatives in the 2018, 2020 and 2022 election cycles.” This includes efforts by Swift, Grande, Kerry Washington, Billie Eilish, Trevor Noah and more.

What is the bigger picture?

This positive usage of celebrities in politics could help sway people who have been turned off by the recent discourse. Young voters in particular “have relatively low levels of trust in a lot of leaders and institutions, including traditional news media — but celebrities are often a rare exception,” Ashley Spillane, a civic engagement and political expert and the author of the study, said to ABC News. Voting “should be the trendy, cool thing to do,” and the “study shows there is evidence that when people feel this way about voting, they participate.”

Kerry Washington, the star of ABC’s “Scandal,” is among the celebrities who’ve spoken out about their intentions. Democracies “work best when everyone votes,” Washington said to CNN. As “someone in the public eye, it’s important to me to remind people of their political power and to share whatever information I have that helps them to step into their power.” Celebrities “have a unique opportunity to encourage voters. The combined reach of our networks can be leveraged to inspire participation and ensure that more people take their rightful place as active participants in our democracy.”

“I don’t speak out because I am an artist,” Washington said. “I speak out because I’m an American.”