Author ORCID Identifier
Vitali Mindel: 0000-0003-4829-8865
Raffaele F. Ciriello: 0000-0002-5073-6310
Abstract
Digital political communication is increasingly shaped by media ecosystems that enable informal, sustained interaction between candidates and citizens. Among these, influencer podcasts remain under-examined. Drawing on post-election survey data from 990 U.S. voters, this study examines how exposure to candidate appearances on influencer podcasts is associated with voter perceptions and reported behaviour in the 2024 presidential election. Donald Trump’s extensive podcast engagement contrasted with Kamala Harris’s more institutionally curated media presence, allowing us to examine emerging and established media logics in an electoral context. Consistent with an exploratory and correlational design, the findings reveal modest but significant associations between intensive podcast engagement and favourable voter perceptions, concentrated among high-intensity listeners. Within our sample, these associations correspond to an advantage of 1.05–2.63 percentage points for Trump – meaningful in a close election – with The Joe Rogan Experience accounting for more than half of this estimated association. We interpret these findings as evidence of relational reinforcement rather than causal persuasion. Integrating media richness, parasocial interaction, and affordance actualisation, the study shows how influencer podcast media reshape trust, influence, and democratic communication.
Recommended Citation
Mindel, V., & Ciriello, R. (In press). Influencer Podcasts as a Frontier of Political Persuasion: Evidence from the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election. Communications of the Association for Information Systems, 59, pp-pp. Retrieved from https://aisel.aisnet.org/cais/vol59/iss1/70
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