The Democratic National Convention marks the first time creators have been credentialed to cover the convention as part of the Democratic Party’s overall strategy to reach young voters. Two hundred creators received credentials, and the Hotties for Harris event was just one of many happy hours and after-parties hosted so creators could hang out and, most importantly, create content.
“This is the future. It’s not just the future because that’s how you reach a lot of young voters. It’s the future because they’re new and more interesting, and they don’t just want to talk about horse racing or who insulted who,” says Rep. Ro Khanna, who told me about his interviews with the creators. “They want to talk about real issues and a real vision.”
Khanna is all in on creators. On Tuesday afternoon, I followed the congressman as he spoke with a few of them. First, Khanna headed to the “Video 24” streaming studio, similar to those belonging to CNN or Fox News, dedicated to creators. There he was met by Phillip DeFranco, an OG news YouTuber, who was filming videos and interviews that would be posted on his channel later this week. Then he 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 her experience covering the convention so far. While I reported earlier this week about how some journalists were upset about the access and amenities provided to creators, some influencers also faced their own logistical challenges at the start of the week.
“They were very helpful after I was able to communicate what I was trying to do. This morning, we literally had to run a direct line of Ethernet cables up to the creator lounge upstairs,” Piker says. “I basically took over. I’m occupying the creator lounge right now and I’m doing an eight- to 10-hour live stream from there.”
But while a handful of creators land interviews with political leaders, some members of the press They fear that they will be replacedespecially since Harris’s critics Call her for not having yet sat down for a full interview with the media.
“I think there needs to be both. I think there is very intelligent and responsible journalism on television and in print that has deep insight and challenges people,” Khanna says. “That’s important. And I think there are people in podcasts and content creators who are also challenging people in different ways, and that’s important.”
For now, though, as Harris’ campaign takes its DNC-fueled victory lap in Chicago, it’s clear that while this was just the first creator-focused convention, it likely won’t be the last.
The chat room
I’m Dhruv Mehrotra, a senior writer at WIRED and a member of the security team. This week, I’m at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) using my phone and some extra equipment to track and analyze wireless signals to figure out whether the police are using any invasive surveillance technology against protesters.
On Monday afternoon, as thousands of protesters prepared to march on 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 for them. Chicago police lined the approved route on their bicycles, while a Chicago Police Department (CPD) helicopter hovered overhead, keeping an eye on the crowd from above. Further along the planned route, I saw Secret Service agents, as well as other Department of Homeland Security officers, surveying the situation.
