“This is an opportunity for thousands of creators and industry experts who think about the creator economy every day to really join the discussion,” Christian Thom, the Biden administration’s director of digital strategy, said onstage Friday.
The Biden administration has made an unprecedented effort to bring content creators into the White House, hosting receptions and holiday parties for influencers last year. The administration has partnered with influencers to spread the word about initiatives like the COVID-19 vaccine rollout and Biden’s “Build Back Better” spending package, as well as key issues like the war in Ukraine.
But while many creators have been enthusiastic attendees at White House events and parties, Biden’s reelection campaign has struggled to rally support among the influential younger generation of Gen Z creators.
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The president’s policies on the Gaza war, climate change and a possible TikTok ban have led some Gen Z influencers who supported him in 2020 to say they will not support his reelection campaign. Since joining TikTok in February, Biden has amassed just 390,000 followers on the app, a tiny fraction of Donald Trump’s more than 7 million followers.
At VidCon in Anaheim this week, some creators’ frustration with Biden was evident in their reactions to the debate between Biden and Trump and the announcement of a summit in August that was supposed to bring them closer to the White House.
More than a dozen content creators gathered on couches in a Mickey Mouse-themed home to watch the debate on Thursday night. The group unanimously deemed the debate a failure for Biden. Nearly all said they wanted Biden to drop out of the election. One high-profile YouTuber with more than 1 million subscribers, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss private discussions, said he had been approached in recent months to endorse Biden for reelection on his channel but declined.
Some content creators at VidCon on Friday were similarly unconvinced by the announcements made at the White House’s Creator Economy Conference.
A content creator with 2.6 million followers on TikTok who goes by the name Conscious Lee said he wasn’t sure if he would attend if asked. “I think they’ve criminalized content creation by banning TikTok, so they don’t value the creator economy,” Lee said, adding that he doesn’t like the Democratic Party’s policies on Gaza.
Ariana Jasmine Afshar, a Gen Z creator with more than 250,000 followers on TikTok who posts about news and politics, based in Oakland, California, said she would decline if invited. “As a Muslim and Middle Eastern creator, I’d rather they address issues like Palestine instead of hosting some silly creator event,” she said.
Announcing the summit at VidCon, the White House’s Tom said the Biden administration plans to use the event to listen to the concerns of content creators. “The voice of the creator community needs to be heard,” he said. “This is an opportunity for my colleagues and the White House to hear those voices directly from you for the first time.”
Saadia Mirza, a 39-year-old content creator from Houston, welcomed the sentiment but said she was unsure what the talks would lead to.
“I think it’s great that the Biden administration is having a conversation, but it’s not the right conversation,” she said. “Social media is currently silent on political content, including the impending TikTok ban signed by Biden. I feel like my actual voice and platform is being marginalized.”