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Paige Javier

ABS-CBN News

MANILA — Can having a massive following on social media lead to victory in the elections? Veteran campaign strategist and Agents International Inc. President Alan German said a huge online presence does not automatically turn into votes.&quot;Just because you&#x27;re an influencer and you have millions of views, likes, engagement on social media, it does not always translate… Social media following is not enough. It helps but it&#x27;s not enough. There has to be something substantive under it,&quot; he said in an interview with ABS-CBN News.German said he was not surprised when he saw a number of influencers and content creators formalizing their bids for the 2025 midterm elections.Some are running for national positions like senator and party-list representative, while others are seeking local posts like councilor.&quot;This is the natural, unsurprising evolution of the artista [celebrity]-turned-candidate. The consumption landscape has radically shifted... The new batch of entertainers that are captivating our attention right now are the online influencers and the so-called socmed [social media] stars,&quot; he said.<div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/10/5/can-influencers-translate-clicks-views-to-votes-952">Can influencers translate clicks, views to votes?</a></div>When asked why online personalities were venturing into politics, German said their massive following could be one of the factors. &quot;Everyday, day in day out, they are bolstered, their confidence is bolstered by seeing the likes, the shares, the comments, the views. And they see that these are in the millions. And in their head they&#x27;re thinking, 300,000 lang na boto congressman na ako why not walang mawawala,&quot; he said.A recent example of an online personality-turned-politician is 1-Rider party-list Rep. and retired police colonel Bonifacio Bosita, who had a sizable social media following before becoming a lawmaker. The party-list garnered close to one million votes in the 2022 elections, right behind ACT-CIS party-list backed by the Tulfo brothers.However, German said not all influencers and content creators successfully entered politics.Vlogger Mocha Uson, who had around 5 million followers and was a vocal supporter of former President Rodrigo Duterte, failed to deliver votes for  <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/12/22/mocha-usons-party-list-granted-accreditation-celine-pialagos-rejected"></a><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/12/22/mocha-usons-party-list-granted-accreditation-celine-pialagos-rejected">MOCHA or the</a><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/12/22/mocha-usons-party-list-granted-accreditation-celine-pialagos-rejected"> &quot;Mothers for Change&quot;</a>party-list in the 2022 elections. The group aimed to represent mothers, despite Uson not being a mother.She was also first nominee of AA Kasosyo party-list in the 2019 polls, but failed to make it.German said online personalities-turned-political aspirants should take a look at their following and look for several factors.&quot;Number one, lahat ba yan bumoboto? Dahil baka iba diyan hindi voting age. That&#x27;s one. Number two, lahat ng followers mo, ‘pag sinusundan din nila yung ibang kandidato din, nawala na advantage mo,&quot; he said.German said online personalities vying for senator would face an even tougher race. &quot;Pag Senado, it&#x27;s not a matter of getting an invitation to a party of 12. You also have to uninvite somebody. Kailangan may patalsikin ka for you to take a seat in the Senate. So sino patatalsikin mo? The math is not a one is to one equivalence. Hindi yung nakakuha ka na ng x number of boto, senador ka na. Kailangan may pataksikin ka,&quot; he said.<div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/10/6/analyst-urges-influencers-to-be-clear-with-platforms-during-elections-2115">&#x27;Gustong tumulong?&#x27; Influencers urged to be clear with platforms during elections</a></div>The veteran campaign strategist reminded the public to not make the popularity of online personalities a basis for voting for them in the 2025 elections.At the end of the day, it&#x27;s important that their influence will transcend to the voting population and they deliver if elected into public office, he said. wers and was a vocal supporter of former President Rodrigo Duterte, failed to deliver votes for  <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/12/22/mocha-usons-party-list-granted-accreditation-celine-pialagos-rejected"></a><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/12/22/mocha-usons-party-list-granted-accreditation-celine-pialagos-rejected">MOCHA or the</a><span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:pre-wrap;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none"><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/12/22/mocha-usons-party-list-granted-accreditation-celine-pialagos-rejected"> &quot;Mothers for Change&quot;</a><span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(0, 0, 0);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:pre-wrap;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none"> party-list in the 2022 elections. The group aimed to represent mothers, despite Uson not being a mother.She was also first nominee of AA Kasosyo party-list in the 2019 polls, but failed to make it.German said online personalities-turned-political aspirants should take a look at their following and look for several factors.&quot;Number one, lahat ba yan bumoboto? Dahil baka iba diyan hindi voting age. That&#x27;s one. Number two, lahat ng followers mo, ‘pag sinusundan din nila yung ibang kandidato din, nawala na advantage mo,&quot; he said.German said online personalities vying for senator would face an even tougher race. &quot;Pag Senado, it&#x27;s not a matter of getting an invitation to a party of 12. You also have to uninvite somebody. Kailangan may patalsikin ka for you to take a seat in the Senate. So sino patatalsikin mo? The math is not a one is to one equivalence. Hindi yung nakakuha ka na ng x number of boto, senador ka na. Kailangan may pataksikin ka,&quot; he said.<div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/10/6/analyst-urges-influencers-to-be-clear-with-platforms-during-elections-2115">&#x27;Gustong tumulong?&#x27; Influencers urged to be clear with platforms during elections</a></div>The veteran campaign strategist reminded the public to not make the popularity of online personalities a basis for voting for them in the 2025 elections.At the end of the day, it&#x27;s important that their influence will transcend to the voting population and they deliver if elected into public office, he said.

Can having a massive following on social media lead to victory in the elections?

Can having a massive following on social media lead to victory in the elections?

Campaign strategist: Social media following not enough for influencers to win, substance needed

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Campaign strategist: Social media following not enough for influencers to win, substance needed

Paige Javier,

ABS-CBN News

Published October 15, 2024 10:43 AM PHT

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Updated October 15, 2024 05:56 PM PHT

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