The DNC marks the first time that creators were credentialed to cover the convention as part of the Democratic Party’s overall strategy for reaching young voters. Two hundred creators received credentials, and the Hotties for Harris event was only one of the many happy hours and after-parties set up for creators to hang out, and most importantly, make content.
“This is the future. It’s not just the future because this is how you reach a lot of young voters. It’s the future because they’re fresh and they’re more interesting, and they don’t just want to talk about the horse race, and they don’t just want to talk about who insulted who,” says Representative Ro Khanna, who spoke to me about his interviews with creators. “They want to talk about actual issues and actual vision.”
Khanna is all in on the creators. On Tuesday afternoon, I followed the congressman around as he spoke with some of them. At first, Khanna went up to “Video 24” the broadcast studio, similar to the ones belonging to CNN or Fox News, dedicated to creators. He was greeted there by Phillip DeFranco, an OG news YouTuber, who was filming videos and interviews that would run on his channel later this week. He then spoke with Hasan Piker, both in the studio and during a “walk and talk” as the congressman made his way to the convention floor.
After the interview, I spoke with Piker about his experience covering the convention thus far. Though I reported earlier this week on how some journalists were upset over the access and amenities provided to creators, some influencers also faced their own logistical challenges at the beginning of the week.
“They were very accommodating after I was able to communicate to them what I’m trying to do. This morning, we had to literally pull a direct line of Ethernet cables into the creator lounge upstairs,” says Piker. “I basically took over. I’m occupying the creator lounge right now and doing like an eight- to 10-hour livestream from there.”
But while a handful of creators are scoring interviews with political leaders, some members of the press fear they’re being replaced, especially as Harris critics call her out for not yet sitting down for a full media interview.
“I think you need to have both. I think there’s very smart, responsible journalism on television and in print that have deep knowledge and challenge people,” says Khanna. “That’s important. And I think that there are people on podcasts and content creators who also challenge people in different ways, and that’s important.”
For now, though, as the Harris campaign takes its DNC-fueled victory lap around Chicago, it’s obvious that while this was only the first creator-focused convention, it likely won’t be the last.
The Chatroom
I’m Dhruv Mehrotra, a senior writer at WIRED on the security desk. This week, I’m at the DNC using my phone and some extra equipment to track and analyze wireless signals to find out whether police are deploying any invasive surveillance technology against demonstrators.
On Monday afternoon, as thousands of protesters prepared to march toward the Democratic National Convention to protest Israel’s deadly siege of Gaza, hundreds of law enforcement officers from federal, state, and local agencies were waiting. Chicago police lined the approved route on their bikes, while a Chicago Police Department (CPD) helicopter hovered, monitoring the crowd from above. Farther down the planned route, I saw Secret Service agents as well as other Department of Homeland Security officers observing the situation.
