How Do Social Media Memes Play A Role In VP Kamala Harris' Campaign?: Expert Weighs In

4 months ago

On "Forbes Newsroom," Iowa State University Profressor Dr. Kelly Winfrey spoke about VP Kamala Harris' campaign and the latest viral videos featuring Harris.

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Transcript

00:00Well, before I let you go, I want to talk a little bit about some media things that

00:05are happening.

00:06I work on the social media side of things for Forbes, and you've studied it.

00:10Now, we have some interesting memes going around about Kamala Harris.

00:15We have, if anybody's on TikTok or Instagram, you see the coconut, three meme, you see the

00:22Charlie XCX brat meme going around.

00:26We also talk about the value of the young voters, getting them out, mobilizing them.

00:33What does this mean for her?

00:34She's really embraced this too.

00:36She's leaned into this idea of riding the social media viral wave.

00:42What is that going to do for her, and how does that help her?

00:45Well, I think it's really important to engage young people.

00:49It's where young people are.

00:51I'll say when the coconut thing started, I had a friend text something to me, and I did

00:56not understand what this TikTok video was.

01:00I'm not the demographic for that, but I've since been like, oh, what's going on here?

01:06Because I do study it, and it is very interesting, and I think very strategic to go to voters

01:12where they are.

01:13Historically, that's been local news hour advertisements and traditional news media,

01:20but it also, for a lot of people, is social media.

01:25We saw Barack Obama did a great job using Facebook very early on in his 2008 campaign,

01:32and then again in 2012.

01:33We're in now the TikTok era, which is interesting given also the TikTok policy, all of that

01:41stuff, but we'll set that aside, but leaning into the discourse and the mediums that young

01:49people are using, which I think her and her campaign are already doing a good job of that,

01:55and that's the sort of stuff that's going to get people excited, especially young people.

01:59Obviously, I'm not that demographic, but I'm excited for other reasons, but it's certainly

02:05new.

02:06It's not Biden's campaign, and I think it really sets her apart as a younger, more aware

02:14candidate than Joe Biden or Donald Trump are.

How Do Social Media Memes Play A Role In VP Kamala Harris' Campaign?: Expert Weighs In

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