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Regardless of how you feel about the entire idea of "social media influencers," it's impossible to deny that they're effective when something gets such a major measurable response the way Kylie Jenner in a bikini just did.
The Jenner/Kardashian clan may have a complicated relationship with politics. Some of the family are NeverTrumpers.
Caitlyn Jenner has been a lifelong conservative Republican and still appears to support 45 despite transphobic political decisions. Kanye is a Trump supporter who maybe is also trying to run for President.
Kylie, however, is more concerned with making sure that people vote, not so much attempting to sway who they vote for. With almost 200 million followers, Kylie's got a pretty big sphere of influence.
Obviously they're not all American citizens eligible to vote in this election, but those who are absolutely picked up what Kylie was putting down when she posted a series of bikini clad selfies.
Normally these sorts of pics would be accompanied by comments about a vacation, how much she is totally feelin that bikini by X designer (It's Dior. Not even going to be haters. She looks great.) being a "Boss Babe" or some work hard/play hard quip.
But this is 2020 and nothing is normal, so instead the caption asks her followers if they are registered to vote.
Her bio link directed people to Vote.org, a nonpartisan tool for voter registration and verification.
So here comes the part where we talk about what an actual influencer can do. Love it or hate it, Kylie's post made a major impact.
Vote.Org CEO Andrea Hailey explained:
"Following Kylie Jenner's Instagram post, the surge in interactions with Vote.org's registration verification tool speaks to an energy among young Americans who want to make sure their voices are heard this election. By making voting easier, and in turn, getting more people to vote, we create a stronger, more representative democracy."
So exactly how much of a "surge in interactions" are we talking about? 1500%
No there are no typos there.
Kylie did not double interaction, or even triple interaction. Kylie's simple post increased activity by fifteen hundred percent.
That massive response got people talking.
Voter records are public information, so a cursory glance at the Kardashian/Jenner clan shows only Kourtney has been a regular voter in the past. Kim, Kylie, Kendall and Khloe (who apparently registered to vote after Kylie's post) have not typically participated in the political process.
But like we said, this is 2020 and nothing is what it used to be. Hopefully all the Kardashian/Jenner clan—and all of you who are eligible—make it to the polls one way or another this year.