When President Biden hosted a celebration with lawmakers on the South Lawn last month to mark the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, Democrats’ signature spending package, there was an unique group of guests joining them.
More than 20 influencers — content creators with devoted followers on platforms like TikTok, Instagram and YouTube — received special invitations.
It’s part of a White House strategy to reach younger people where they are — which often is scrolling on a device.
@underthedesknews Wild huh!? ♬ original sound – UnderTheDeskNews
“I got a magical email from the digital communications team at the White House saying they were going to be doing essentially a creator briefing for the Inflation Reduction Act,” said V Spehar, who hosts “Under The Desk News,” which provides daily news wraps in about a minute to their 2.7 million TikTok followers.
“I thought perhaps it was going to be similar to what we see from legacy media groups who get a press briefing from the press secretary,” Spehar said. “This was a little bit more intimate than that.”
The influencers got their own briefing, and Biden dropped in
Spehar and the other influencers gathered in the Roosevelt Room ahead of the ceremony and were briefed on the legislation by members of the National Economic Council, the climate policy office and Biden and Vice President Harris themselves.
“Honestly, I don’t care what side of the aisle you’re on, when the president and the vice president walk in the room, it’s a cool moment,” Spehar said.
This isn’t the first time the White House has worked with influencers. Spehar was part of a virtual briefing earlier this year on the war in Ukraine — a briefing that Saturday Night Live was quick to parody.
Spehar has a sense of humor about the spoof, but said the joke really is on people who underestimate what TikTok has to offer.
“Legacy media had a good time making a joke about TikTokers being invited to a White House briefing,” Spehar said. “It just showed how out of touch people are with what the current state of communication is for young people.”
Americans are increasingly getting their news from social media, including the billion-user strong platform TikTok. According to Pew Research, 33% of U.S. adults ages 18-29 and 15% ages 30-49 say they prefer to get their news from social media.
@heyashleyrenne The #InflationReductionAct isn’t perfect but it’s progress. As a vegan mom helping parents navigate raising this next generation of kids on a changing planet, here are 3 highlights all parents should know about this bill. #vegan #veganmom #sustainability #environment #parenting ♬ original sound – Ashley Renne
The White House sees this as a way to reach people where they are
Democrats want to get credit from voters for the climate and health care measures in the Inflation Reduction Act. To explain it to more people, the White House decided to hold briefings to “educate and activate prominent content creators to amplify our message on their own online social media channels,” according to an August memo.
“The White House social media accounts, they’re big, they reach a lot of people. But very often, we’re talking to…
Read More: The White House is turning to TikTok stars to take its message to a younger audience