Celebrities' voices

New Harvard study finds celebrities' voices are "incredibly powerful" in elections

From CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister

Former president and Republican nominee Donald Trump brought out Hulk Hogan and Kid Rock to the Republican National Convention last month, while Megan Thee Stallion, George Clooney and Jennifer Aniston are among the stars who have voiced support for Vice President Kamala Harris in her White House bid.

But do election efforts by celebrities move the needle? Or is it all just hype?

A new study by Harvard University’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, shared exclusively with CNN, found that celebrities do play an influential role in promoting civic participation.

“While some polling shows that people claim they aren’t influenced by celebrity voices when it comes to politics, more rigorous evidence indicates that these voices are incredibly powerful,” according to the Harvard study.

Harvard’s report does not examine celebrity endorsements to specific candidates or political parities, instead focusing on the role celebrities play in nonpartisan voter participation efforts, like educating, mobilizing and encouraging Americans to register to vote.

The researchers noted the power of social media, but also explored celebrity campaigns across mediums, including television, documentaries, merchandising and public service announcements. They looked at data from celebrity initiatives in the 2018, 2020 and 2022 election cycles, including efforts by Kerry Washington, Billie Eilish, Hailey Bieber, Trevor Noah, David Dobrik, Questlove and Taylor Swift.