From Rolling Stone · Nikki McCann Ramirez · · 1m 20s
Progressive Creators Close Political Gap in Texas
Texas progressives host creators to counter right-wing social media influence.
In brief
Texas progressives host creators to counter right-wing social media influence. 10 Texas progressive creators produced 62 videos with 5.3m views during RNC to address political misinformation. Originally reported by Rolling Stone.
Progressive Creator House
10 Texas creators gather at MoveOn's rented house in Dallas.
“What's going on y'all? Congressman Christian Menefee here, and I am in DEE-lus, Texas right now!”
RNC Emergency Meeting
Republicans hold emergency convention to reassure Trump's support.
“The RNC is just like a goldmine for craziness that you can react to”
Creator Strategy
MoveOn focuses on local creators to build political influence.
“We're not worried about audience sizes”
Texas Creators
Creators from Rio Grande Valley to Houston with 9k-2.8m followers.
“We have nothing for creators on the left to plug into”
Content Production
Creators produce 62 videos with 5.3m views and 400k likes.
“Less than two hours ago he had a room full of you fuckers with your hands up pledging allegiance to his orange ass”
Political Impact
Creators react to RNC speeches with viral videos.
“Greg Abbott thinks you're stupid”
Influence Gap
Right-wing has 20m+ creators vs. left's limited resources.
“It's building that community online and really driving action”
Creator Challenges
Creators struggle with funding and event access.
“A lot of people that got accepted to go couldn't because it just wasn't equitable”
Authenticity
60% of young adults get news from influencers.
“Getting news from influencers provided a greater sense of authenticity”
Content Strategy
Creators prioritize quick videos over traditional reporting.
“If I've got limited time, is it better spent giving four hours to knock doors”
Future Questions
How to balance political content with lifestyle focus.
“Do people want political content creators they've established trust with”
Symbiosis
Influencers and journalism share mutual goals.
“The ultimate goal of influencers remains to influence”
Political Gap
Democrats lack right-wing scale of social media influence.
“We don't have that investment, so like when you're talking about scale, it's hard”
Creator Network
Creators collaborate with Democratic candidates.
“Many have covered or outright created content with James Talarico and Gina Hinojosa”
RNC Reaction
Creators produce videos reacting to RNC speeches.
“I don't know, if you ask me they're not doing themselves any favors”
Future Focus
Creators aim to build trusted political voices.
“In the future, I'd love to be more of a content creator with income”
At a glance
10 Texas progressive creators produced 62 videos with 5.3m views during RNC to address political misinformation.
