- Tennis power couple de Minaur and Boulter get engaged
- Supermaxi yachts eye record in gruelling Sydney-Hobart race
- Hawaii's Kilauea volcano erupts, spewing columns of lava
- El Salvador Congress votes to end ban on metal mining
- Five things to know about Panama Canal, in Trump's sights
- NBA fines Minnesota guard Edwards $75,000 for outburst
- Haitians massacred for practicing voodoo were abducted, hacked to death: UN
- Inter beat Como to keep in touch with leaders Atalanta
- Man Utd boss Amorim questions 'choices' of Rashford's entourage
- Trump's TikTok love raises stakes in battle over app's fate
- Is he serious? Trump stirs unease with Panama, Greenland ploys
- England captain Stokes to miss three months with torn hamstring
- Support grows for Blake Lively over smear campaign claim
- Canada records 50,000 opioid overdose deaths since 2016
- Jordanian, Qatari envoys hold talks with Syria's new leader
- France's second woman premier makes surprise frontline return
- France's Macron announces fourth government of the year
- Netanyahu tells Israel parliament 'some progress' on Gaza hostage deal
- Guatemalan authorities recover minors taken by sect members
- Germany's far-right AfD holds march after Christmas market attack
- Serie A basement club Monza fire coach Nesta
- Mozambique top court confirms ruling party disputed win
- Syrian medics say were coerced into false chemical attack testimony
- NASA solar probe to make its closest ever pass of Sun
- London toy 'shop' window where nothing is for sale
- Volkswagen boss hails cost-cutting deal but shares fall
- Accused killer of US insurance CEO pleads not guilty to 'terrorist' murder
- Global stock markets mostly higher
- Not for sale. Greenland shrugs off Trump's new push
- Acid complicates search after deadly Brazil bridge collapse
- Norwegian Haugan dazzles in men's World Cup slalom win
- Arsenal's Saka out for 'many weeks' with hamstring injury
- Mali singer Traore child custody case postponed
- France mourns Mayotte victims amid uncertainy over government
- UK economy stagnant in third quarter in fresh setback
- African players in Europe: Salah leads Golden Boot race after brace
- German far-right AfD to march in city hit by Christmas market attack
- Ireland centre Henshaw signs IRFU contract extension
- Bangladesh launches $5bn graft probe into Hasina's family
- US probes China chip industry on 'anticompetitive' concerns
- Biden commutes sentences for 37 of 40 federal death row inmates
- Clock ticks down on France government nomination
- Mozambique on edge as judges rule on disputed election
- Mobile cinema brings Tunisians big screen experience
- Honda and Nissan to launch merger talks
- Police arrest suspect who set woman on fire in New York subway
- China vows 'cooperation' over ship linked to severed Baltic Sea cables
- Australian tennis star Purcell provisionally suspended for doping
- Luxury Western goods line Russian stores, three years into sanctions
- Wallace and Gromit return with comic warning about AI dystopia
Influencers get VIP treatment at US Democratic National Convention
The Kamala Harris campaign rolled out the blue carpet for social media influencers at the Democratic National Convention this week, hoping that they can help get out the vote to beat Donald Trump.
Stars of Instagram and TikTok were feted with free drinks, yacht parties and full VIP access, among other special treatment that was not given to the traditional press at the political convention -- which felt more like a festival, at times -- in Chicago.
"People have to realize that a lot of these creators have larger audiences than CNN, The New York Times, Univision, Telemundo, ABC," said Benjamin Zamora, a former journalist who left the news media to work as an influencer online, where he has 6.3 million followers across platforms.
He spoke on the floor of Chicago's United Center, where rooms have been set aside to pamper influencers with spreads of wine and prime-rib sandwiches.
It was a far cry from what was available for the mainstream press, but for Zamora, the difference in treatment makes sense.
"The Democratic National Convention sees content creators as allies; that's not the case for the press," he said.
The accreditation of more than 200 influencers is a new development at this convention, part of a strategy to broaden Harris's electoral base.
The treatment given to influencers contrasts with the fact that Harris has not given an interview or press conference to the mainstream press since President Joe Biden stepped aside and the party endorsed her nomination.
At least five influencers made the convention's select list of speakers, including Uruguay's Carlos Eduardo Espina, who took the podium Wednesday.
"It's really incredible that they gave us that opportunity," he told AFP.
"We see Bill Clinton, Joe Biden, and we think 'Wow, we don't deserve to be in the same space as them,'" he added.
"But we do. We have a lot to offer," said the 25-year-old, who has more than 11 million followers on social networks.
In the arena, influencers -- with cameras, lights and microphones in hand -- are freer to roam than many press teams, and have a reserved area on the blue carpet for interviews.
The reserved space for the traditional media sits outside the stadium, with few luxuries other than water, powerful air conditioning and Wi-Fi.
- All in for Harris -
The work is different, explained 12-year-old influencer Knowa, who argued with Republican activists Charlie Kirk and Mike Lindell in a recent video that went viral.
Despite his young age, Knowa speaks with a self-confidence that many may not reach in a lifetime, and with an undeniable charisma.
For Knowa, the DNC is not the biggest event of his short career, even though it has seen him sitting alongside US Senator Bernie Sanders and former Georgia state legislator Stacey Abrams.
"No, I would say the White House... that was pretty big as well," he said.
The young campaigner and social media star is all in for Harris, having met her five times.
The young influencer is homeschooled and has few other hobbies, dedicating all his time to the cause.
"The first thing I do when I wake up, I Google Kamala Harris. That's it," he told AFP.
Not all influencers at the convention are focused on politics, however.
Beauty, entertainment, lifestyle -- influencers covering all walks of life are adapting their brands to the convention.
Blair Imani, with 642,000 followers on Instagram, promotes one-and-a-half-minute videos on a diversity of topics on her "Smarter in Seconds" channel.
At the convention, Imani interviewed popular Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
"They've given us access, they've been so hospitable," said Imani.
"I know they're accommodating some content creators with hotel accommodations, because a lot of us are independent creators... They've gone above and beyond," she said.
X.M.Francisco--PC