Digital Political Content For Young Voters
In the modern information landscape, young voters often encounter political news through social media platforms rather than traditional news subscriptions. A notable example is the Instagram account Hellicity Merriman, which originated as an American Girl doll meme account but has evolved into a source of political commentary and information dissemination for its followers. The account's creators, Barrett Adair and Carter Leigh, both work in progressive politics and launched the account in 2022, naming it after the Revolutionary War-era American Girl doll Felicity Merriman.
The account utilizes Instagram's broadcast channel feature, a one-way group chat-style forum, to share information and thoughts on Capitol Hill happenings and election-related events. This format is run primarily by Adair, a digital strategist for a Democratic think tank and advocacy group. The channel was established in response to the constant news cycle surrounding the 2024 presidential election, providing a space where young people can learn about political news during a "very fraught and confusing time." The creators aim to offer a community that is not condescending and empowers its participants in the democratic process.
The broadcast channel represents a method through which some young people consume news, a trend supported by a 2023 Pew Research study finding that 32% of Americans aged 18 to 29 regularly get their news on TikTok. Adair and Leigh acknowledge their own biases and lack of expertise, clarifying that their channel is not a replacement for traditional media but rather "a political talk show taking place via group chat." They emphasize that most teenagers and college students do not have expendable income for subscriptions to outlets like the New York Times or Washington Post, citing a 2019 Reuters Institute for Journalism study that found over 75% of US newspapers are behind a paywall.
When asked where they recommend young voters get their news, Adair and Leigh point to TikTok, specifically from reliable politics creators who summarize news into digestible, bite-size videos. They consider this the best way for young voters to get news created for them. The Hellicity Merriman account itself functions as another forum for information about the 2024 election, with followers sometimes joking that the account breaks the news to them on major events such as the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the attempted assassination of former president Donald Trump, and President Joe Biden dropping out of the 2024 race. The channel's name and foundational lore are tied to the American Girl doll Felicity, a patriot from the Revolutionary War, which the creators find symbolic of the account's purpose.
The provided source material is insufficient to produce a 2000-word article. Below is a factual summary based on available data.
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