How the 2024 Elections Shaped Influencer Campaigns

Ghana’s 2024 elections didn’t just play out at rallies and polling stations, they also unfolded on our social feeds. In a keenly contested poll, political parties and civic movements leveraged social media influencers like never before. This article analyzes how influencers (from outspoken Twitter pundits to lifestyle TikTokers) became political campaign tools, and what that means for authenticity, regulation, and public trust in Ghana’s nascent social media sphere.

Influencers on the Campaign Trail

As Ghana prepared to vote in December 2024, many influencers swapped beauty tips and comedy skits for voter advocacy and partisan messaging. Social media influencers – individuals with substantial followings on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X (Twitter) – were courted by parties to amplify manifestos and slogans. According to a Medium investigation, these influencers’ activities “gained momentum” during the election season, with many promoting political messages.

Crucially, much of this promotion was paid. In Ghana as in elsewhere, we saw the “commodification of influence” – a market for hashtags and opinions on hire. Influencers ranging from mega-celebrities to micro-bloggers participated. For example, a few popular YouTube creators openly endorsed presidential candidates in sponsored posts, while some trendy Instagram fashionistas subtly slipped party slogans into their content. Even apolitical lifestyle personalities were not above the fray: suddenly your favorite food vlogger was urging you to “vote wisely” with color themes conspicuously matching a party. This blurring of genuine conviction and paid promotion defined the 2024 digital campaign.

Authenticity and Backlash

The influx of political endorsements online sparked debates about authenticity. Ghanaian social media users are savvy – they can sense when an influencer is parroting talking points for a paycheck. Indeed, whispers of “-fia turn politician overnight-” circulated when a usually neutral entertainment blogger started posting partisan memes. Some influencers faced backlash from followers who felt betrayed by perceived cash-for-content deals. Anecdotally, a TikTok dance sensation lost followers after doing a choreographed routine to a campaign jingle; comments read that she had “sold out for politicians.”

On the other hand, influencers who were transparently passionate about causes tended to maintain credibility. For instance, activists from the #FixTheCountry movement who encouraged voting for change were seen as authentic, given their longstanding civic engagement. The public clearly differentiates between organic advocacy and sponsored spin. A 2023 survey noted that globally trust in influencers had grown (61% of social media users trust influencers, up from 51% in 2019) – but that trust is earned over time and can be quickly eroded if influencers appear inauthentic. In Ghana’s election, we witnessed a mix: genuine voices using their platforms for political discourse, and mercenary promoters hopping on whichever campaign paid. The latter not only received online flak but risk damaging the overall credibility of influencer marketing in Ghana.

Influencer Campaign Tactics

Political strategists in 2024 treated influencer outreach much like brand marketing. They identified online personalities who resonated with key demographics – youth, urban professionals, entertainment fans – and engaged them to push campaign narratives. Some tactics were overt: musicians and actors were contracted as campaign ambassadors, releasing songs and videos for candidates (a practice seen in prior elections as well).

Other tactics were covert: networks of micro-influencers coordinated posts to make certain hashtags trend. As one report highlighted, paid influencers operate in a network with mega-influencers as the main instrument and nano-influencers as amplifiers, all targeting their followers in a cascade. For example, in the week before voting, dozens of small Twitter accounts simultaneously tweeted about a candidate’s plan for jobs using the same hashtag – a likely orchestrated effort to dominate the conversation. Influencers also employed engagement tricks: running polls like “Who are you voting for? 🤔” or posting viral challenges that indirectly promoted a party’s theme, thereby generating buzz without looking like traditional ads. Another method was covert disinformation – unfortunately, some influencers spread misleading claims about opponents.

This mirrored Nigeria’s experience where influencers were paid to spread false narratives in 2023. Ghana had a mild taste of that: a Facebook page of a known meme creator shared a doctored image of a candidate in a scandalous light, which turned out to be fake news. Such incidents raised ethical red flags.

Regulation and Ethics Debate

The phenomenon of influencer politicking sparked calls for greater transparency. Should influencers have to tag political posts as #ad or #sponsored, just as they would for a paid brand promotion?

Ghana currently has no specific regulations for online political advertising, beyond general electoral laws against misinformation. However, media watchdogs and civil society began advocating for guidelines. The ethical concerns are clear: “unchecked influence can mislead the public and harm democratic processes” if left opaque. Some have pointed to Kenya, where paid political influencers during the 2022 elections led to public outcry and discussions on regulation. In Ghana, the Electoral Commission and National Communications Authority were somewhat behind the curve, though platforms themselves took steps.

For instance, TikTok launched an in-app Elections Centre in Ghana with credible information and labeled election-related content, an effort to counteract misinformation. Twitter (X) also indicated it would enforce global rules on political spam. But enforcement in practice was lax – many sponsored posts slipped by without disclosure. Going forward, Ghana may consider light-touch regulation: perhaps requiring influencers to indicate paid political partnerships or empowering the Advertising Authority to monitor online political ads. There is a fine balance to strike; we don’t want to stifle genuine expression or satirists (some of whom played an important role in political commentary), but voters deserve to know when an “independent opinion” is actually orchestrated propaganda.

Public Trust and the New Normal

Has public trust in influencers changed after the election? In the short term, there is cynicism. The very term “influencer” gained a political tinge – people joke that “everyone with a ring light is now a campaign manager.”

Yet, one could argue Ghana’s electorate largely saw through the fluff. Voters still based decisions on track records and policies more than on who a YouTuber endorsed. What has shifted is the normalization of social media as a political battleground. Just as radio phone-ins and newspaper editorials shaped prior elections, trending tweets and TikTok skits are now part of Ghana’s political discourse.

This can have positive aspects: more youth engagement, creative dissemination of information, and rapid fact-checking by citizen journalists. But it also means we must navigate a Wild West of influence. The 2024 election taught Ghanaians to be more media literate – to ask, “Who is behind this message?” – which ultimately is a good thing. Influencers themselves may recalibrate; those who endured backlash might stick to lifestyle content hereafter or be more transparent about any future political work.

Conclusion

The 2024 elections demonstrated that in Ghana’s democracy, likes and shares are now as coveted as votes. Influencers became political intermediaries, some genuinely inspiring civic participation, others simply cashing in on the campaign season. The experience highlighted the need for greater transparency and perhaps self-regulation among influencer ranks. As one digital media consultant observed, social media in Ghana is maturing: “while it allows voters to engage and contribute to political discourse, transparency around paid political influencing raises serious ethical concerns”. Learning from this, Ghana can encourage a healthier infosphere ahead of 2028 – one where creative online campaigning thrives, but not at the expense of truth. Politics, like our beloved Ghanaian jollof, needs the right ingredients; a pinch of influencer star-power is fine, as long as it’s not spoiled by hidden additives. In the end, trust is the currency that matters most, both at the ballot box and on the timeline.