Oprah or Hasan Piker? DNC tests the value of celebrities vs. influencers

Last night, talk show icon Oprah Winfrey received roaring applause at her first-ever appearance at a national political convention.

The day before, actor Sean Astin strutted onstage to call for the first woman president in United States history, while managing to slide in references to his roles in both Stranger Things and Rudy.

And Atlanta rapper Lil Jon turned roll call into a dance party, adapting Get Low's PG-13 lyrics to celebrate the Democratic ticket of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. Standing in front of the smiling delegates from Georgia, Lil Jon led the crowd in a chant: "VP Harris to the Walz."

Add to that appearances by people like Mindy Kaling, Mark Hamill and Mandy Patinkin and the last several days of the Democratic convention have been a glitzier echo of last month's Republican National Convention, which saw Kid Rock, Hulk Hogan and UFC CEO Dana White show up to bolster their preferred party.

While the star power is enough to get the DNC party into headlines, celebrities' ability to sway voters is much less certain.

As young people's attentions shift away from the silver screen to their phone screens, celebrity presence is still important, but more and more, it's window dressing — something the convention's organizers seem to be aware of.

"There are some celebrities that have so much power to be able to persuade and motivate younger voters that I don't think you would say no to an endorsement from these types of A-listers," journalist Tara Palmeri told CBC. "But I think there is a fear of being mocked or being seen too much as a part of the Hollywood elite."

Political insiders speculated the Democratic Party would limit celebrity presence at the convention for that reason. This has sort of come true: despite the seemingly full marquee, the party's celebrity wrangler, Greg Propper, told The Hollywood Reporter they were being strategic about the "whirlwind" of talent asking to be involved.

Both the Democrats and the Republicans seem to have opted for a different strategy to try and sway opinion: a slate of internet-based superstars who are both more relevant to young voters and less risky to established politicians.

For example, more than 200 social media influencers and content creators were given credentialed access to the DNC and got face time with some of the highest-ranking speakers there. This includes Twitch celebrity Hasan Piker interviewing Sen. Ed Markey in his livestream and 13-year-old Knowa De Baraso accosting fellow political influencer Charlie Kirk in a now-viral X clip. 

Chicago-based content creator Joshua Joseph says overall, the strategy of working with influencers has far more likelihood of enticing young voters.

"Even though you might not have the name recognition of, like, a George Clooney, the amount of people that you can reach through making TikToks [or] making Instagram videos has become so much bigger than at any point in the past."

It's a strategy the Democratic Party has been slow to pick up on, says Joseph. Even some Democrats agree.

"I think that you are the future, and the rest of the world is going to realize it in 20 more years, and it will be too late," Markey said in his interview with Piker.