“Know the star you are. And see yourself as part of a galaxy.”
So sayeth the Mother of All Influencers, the Hashtag Highness, the Rich Stick Insect, Paris Hilton. Paris – who I met at a Super Bowl Playboy party in Texas once, full disclosure, and who couldn’t put two words together without a team of ghost writers – is right, says a new report.
Influencers – at least in Canada, and at least in respect of politics – are the new galactic stars, says a report written by assorted tall foreheads. Influencers rule, dude. They slay.
Thedetailed, 80-page report, which had many big words in it, was authored by the Canadian Digital Media Research Network, with the assistance of some brainy people at the McGill University and University of Toronto-led Media Ecosystem Observatory.
Its main conclusion can be stated thusly:
Influencers had a bigger impact on the 2025 Canadian federal general election than the mainstream media and the politicians and political parties put together.
Like, way more.
The report found that influencers produced almost half, 47%, of the political content that pinged around the internet during the election. News organizations made up only 28%, and politicians a piddly 18%. Ouch.
Way back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, and when Stockwell Day allegedly interacted with them, the mainstream media dominated the discourse. So, too, politicians and political parties, who spent truckloads of dough on ads. Not anymore.
Influencers were defined by the report’s authors as “an individual with the ability to shape opinions, behaviours, or consumption patterns of online audiences through their social media presence.”
Not everyone made the cut.
The 4,000-odd influencers with the most influence needed to meet these criteria: “At least 10,000 followers in TikTok/X or at least 5,000 followers in Facebook/Instagram/YouTube/Bluesky … and have a majority of the content be political.” More than 1.52 million posts were examined.
Influencers typically found on right side of ideological spectrum
They may wear Buzz Lightyear jammies all day, eat Costco Cheeseballs, drink fizzy pop, and live in mom’s basement, but these influencers – typically found on the right side of the ideological spectrum – have outsized cloud.
Said the centre: “Online political engagement surged during the election period, with interactions around election-related content rising by nearly half compared to the previous year.”
Some platforms were found to be more equal than others, however. Says the report: “TikTok became a powerful amplifier of news content, Instagram provided politicians with an effective space for visibility and interaction, and X remained the dominant hub for influencers, who played an outsized role in shaping narratives.” The most influencer posting happened on X, they found.
Why has all this happened? Several reasons, the report’s authors conclude. Meta (Facebook and Instagram) had a tantrum about a well-intentioned Canadian law and commenced censoring news stories in 2023. Fewer Canadians were getting political information in traditional ways. And, on Twitter/X, Elon Musk took over and pushed out a lot of self-described progressive voices. Influencers, particularly conservative ones, started to surge in importance.
As such, “influencers maintained their spots as crucial political players, shaping public opinion and driving the direction of political conversations.”
With great power comes great responsibility, Spiderman would say, and the report’s authors sniffed that influencers needed to “embrace their democratic responsibility,” whatever that is.
Among their demands:
– Demonstrate “responsible digital behaviour” by showing readers/viewers “how to critically evaluate information and encourage respectful civic dialogue.” (Clearly these people have never been on Twitter.)
– “Disclose clearly” when something is paid for and sponsored, “so that audiences can make informed decisions about independent opinion versus advocacy.” (Fair enough. I can disclose no one could be bothered to sponsor any of this column, however.)
– “Verify information” before popping off about elections, candidates, or public institutions, “and refrain from sharing or speculating when accuracy is uncertain.” (Um, no. Speculation is what everyone – influencers, reporters and politicians – have always done, and will always do. Sorry.)
– “Avoid amplifying outrage-driven or sensationalist narratives.” (Again, have you guys ever looked at social media or a newspaper column? Outrage and sensationalism is our stock-in-trade, folks. It’s not going away, ever.)
At this point in the column, you may be asking yourself: Which influencers had the most influence? Who are, to use the report’s own words, “the prominent Canadian influencers central to the network”?
Excellent question. The graphic above gives you their answer.
My lineup for selfies and autographs now forms to the left. Have your credit cards ready.
