Online influencers may not change the way Australians vote in the imminent federal elections, but they will almost certainly shape how and why political events become “news”.
In a nation where up to 40% of users on popular platforms such as YouTube and Tiktok draw their news from influencers, they are likely to play an increasing role in the conservation of politics for new audiences. These influencers range from professionals fully engaged in policy to amateurs and their audience of Australians with younger predominance. Their expansion audience emphasizes the growing hybridity of Australia’s political and media systems and how influencers shape them.
The American presidential election of 2024 showed the growing importance of social media influencers in electoral policy. Donald Trump and Kamala Harris both courted Various online personalities. Trump appeared alongside Kick Streamer Adin Ross and Youtuber Logan Paul while Democratic activists invited 200 influencers to the National Democrat Convention in August. These were obvious strategies since influencers are now a regular source of new ones to One in five American And more than a third of the under 30s.
Could influencers play a role in the Australian elections?
The landscape of the political influence of Australia is less developed than the United States, although influencers are increasingly shaping the way people engage in politics. The research suggests That on Facebook, only 14% of users derive their news from influencers, while on YouTube, this amounts to 24% and reaches 41% on Tiktok. Meanwhile, 43% of YouTube users under 35 depend on influencers.
These influencers largely conform to three sometimes riding styles.
Professionals
There are professional political influencers who engage full time seriously and specifically with politics, mainly through podcasts and YouTube.
Former Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson is an eminent example of the political right. Since the creation of a podcast and a YouTube channel in 2018, it has integrated a International coalition Conservative influencers. Anderson’s YouTube channel, which has more than 700,000 subscribers, has discussions with some of the most important conservative personalities in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia on Western politics.
Avi Yemini is another, working as Australian correspondent for the extreme right Canadian Network Rebel News. Yemini has more than 900,000 subscribers and produces a mixture of vlogs, often covering online drama, as well as field correspondence videos that could question pro-Palestine demonstrators in Melbourne or the participants of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Professional influencers of the political left include the actor affiliated with work Jordan Shanks-Markovine, AKA FriendlyjordiesAnd the Konrad Benjamin Non aligned, host of Punter’s policy. With 1.4 million combined YouTube subscribers, these influencers produce humorous vlogs and sketches Focus on Australian politics which sometimes presents politicians.
The politically affiliated
The second category contains politically affiliated influencers, who are professionals with a broader area of interest, such as comedy, which is also committed to politics. These figures often have a larger audience due to their broader attraction.
Ozzy Man is one of the greatest influencers in Australia, with 6 million subscribers on YouTube and 12 million subscribers on Facebook. It mainly produces humorous comments on viral videos but also frequently discusses politics, in particular Support the voice in parliament in 2023.
The opposition to the voice in Parliament came from the actor Isaac Butterfield, who has more than 2 million YouTube subscribers and often comments on politics.
Amateurs
Amateur influencers generally have a smaller audience. Although they often know politics well, these individuals mainly influence part -time or informal time. Generally, they do not have access to professional broadcasting equipment and adopt Tiktok more and more for the tools it offers amateur creators.
Jordan Van Den Lamb, alias Purplebregers, has developed an audience of more than 200,000 on Tiktok, mainly by criticizing the housing policy. This allowed him to launch a Campaign for a seat in the Senate In 2025 as a candidate for victorious socialists.
Freya Leach has exploited his presence as a tiktok to present herself as a liberal candidate in the elections of the state of the NSW 2023 and repeated this style in 2025 with viral videos.
Impact: the hybrid media system
While amateur influencers continue to attract attention, many do so socially and for a smaller audience. Their impact is observed in the growing importance of influencer platforms as a whole, rather than in specific cases.
However, professional and affiliated influencers have equaled the public of traditional media on YouTube, The most popular platform for news in Australia.
According to Youtube data, in the past year, each video produced by these influencers (excluding the policy of the bettor) has generally collected more opinions than the averages of 7 short stories, 9 short stories and ABC news combined. However, traditional points of sale continue to generate more total views.
Despite their growing audience, it is unlikely that Australian political influencers will replace traditional media in online spaces. Instead, these are key aspects of what researchers call the “Hybrid multimedia system. “”
In this system, politics, old media and new media are increasingly interdependent, each informing how others work. A recent Tiktok by Peter Dutton with reacting to him Anthony Albanese’s remixed television coverage is a good example. The Daily Mail reports on a tiktok with Leach criticize the Albanians is another.
In this system, influencers mainly play a mediation role, rarely creating new politicians but Interpret and direct often he. Their audiences trust their ability to decide what is worthy of interest – a practice known in traditional and new media worlds like “news– and to offer a reliable or at least entertaining interpretation of current events.
The new media has enabled these influencers to develop a large audience, although the successful migration of traditional media societies in the same spaces has also been crucial.
Which is probably this time
The importance of influencers in Australian electoral policy is overestimated. Gen Z party Founded in 2023 Directing the influencer candidates has apparently dissolved; Leach failed in his campaign in 2023 because it seems that Van den Lamb will be in 2025.
However, influencers have already shaped politics in Australia. The researchers discovered that they played a role in Defeat voice in parliament And figures like Anderson are an already integrated aspect of the online presence of the coalition.
Although it is not clear if the campaign display panels Funded by Konrad Benjamin And its audience will influence voters, they could at least direct a public debate.
Originally published under Creative municipalities by 360info™.