Social Media and Politics

Connecting Social Media Influencers with Political Campaigns, with Zach Fang

Social Media and Politics

Show Notes

Zach Fang, Head of Sales and Business Development at Vocal Media, shares how the start-up is building a database of social media influencers to connect with political campaigns and organizations. We discuss what makes TikTok influencers a different type of political advertising and how their costs stack up to traditional broadcast and social media. Zach also shares what's happening with influencers on Twitch, Discord, and YouTube shorts, and how influencers may turn from awareness raising to organizing.

More from Social Media and Politics

Mar 15, 2026

Jochen König, Co-Founder and CEO of Cosmonauts & Kings, discusses the Transparency and Targeting of Political Advertising (TTPA) regulation. We break down the current state of TTPA implementation and its implications for digital political communication in Europe. Jochen shares his thoughts on the definition of political advertising, alternative solutions to increase political visibility online, and how he is advising campaigns to adapt their online strategies in a landscape without ads on Meta and Google.

Feb 1, 2026

Bruce Schneier and Dr. Nathan Sanders discuss Rewiring Democracy: How AI Will Transform Our Politics, Government, and Citizenship (MIT Press). Bruce and Nathan share how AI becomes viable for governments when the speed, scale, scope, and sophistication of computational systems surpasses human capacity. We also discuss the relationship between AI and the Internet of Things, how AI interacts with lobbying and legislation, and how values can be construed in an automated context. Current examples of AI implementation are shared from political campaigning, public administration, and civil society.

Jan 18, 2026

Jacob Ward, accomplished journalist and host of The Rip Current, joins the podcast to discuss independent journalism in today’s fragmented media environment. We begin with a conversation about whether the “news cycle” still makes sense, before turning to how platforms like YouTube and TikTok enable journalists to build direct relationships with audiences. Jacob reflects on sourcing, livestreaming, journalistic ethics, and the differences between working as an independent journalist versus reporting within major news organizations.

Jan 4, 2026

Dr. Betto van Waarden, Assistant Professor of History at Maastricht University, discusses his new book Politicians and Mass Media in the Age of Empire. We begin by charting the technological developments of the 19th century and how it influenced the speed and scale of news production. Then, we discuss the rise of public opinion and how it affected the media's role in the political system. We spend the rest of the episode discussing publicity politicians, the transnational media system, and how many of the political dynamics we see today can be traced to the Age of Empire.

Dec 21, 2025

The 10th Annual Social Media and Politics Year in Review! This year, we cover the platforms’ year in review reports, the EU's regulation on transparency of targeted ads, meta approaches to platforms, and implications of the synthetic public sphere. See you in 2026!

See all episodes →