The North Atlantic Alliance has invited 16 content creators from countries such as the UK, Germany and France, who have large followings on TikTok, Instagram and other social networks, to attend the summit, which is being held in Washington from July 9 to 11.
Also, it is planned that 10 more "influencers" from the USA will come to the summit at the invitation of the US Ministry of Defense, the portal writes. Bloombergbusiness.
Marketing experts characterized this move as an acknowledgment that traditional media do not reach enough younger generations, especially young people in their early twenties and teenagers.
Even long-standing alliances with a rich history like NATO must adapt to social media trends to ensure as much public support as possible.
According to the spokesperson of the Alliance, NATO paid the travel expenses of the young content creators, but they will not receive any remuneration for their content.
"A group of nearly 30 influencers in Washington this week has an audience of about 40 million on social media," a State Department spokesman said in a statement.
Young people are taking the reins of power.
The names of the invited influencers have not been confirmed, but NATO's social media profiles show a video explanation of the origins of the alliance, narrated by 25-year-old influencer Anthony Polcari.
Polkari said in an interview that he was invited to help prepare the introductory video, but was unable to join the influencer program during the summit due to other commitments. He believes that content creators like him can help convey NATO's message to the generation that is about to take over.
"Our generation will soon take over the reins of power." "Many people, much smarter than me, will lead this country," he said. "I think it's up to these organizations to make sure the younger generations know what they're doing."
"The creators will be able to attend the NATO summit and meet numerous experts and high-ranking officials of NATO and allied countries," the spokesman said in a statement.
This is not the first time that a group of content creators has visited the Alliance headquarters in Brussels. A similar program was organized in 2022.
"Disinformation spreads like wildfire"
Amanda Round, a 161.700-year-old whose Tik Tok profile has about XNUMX followers, attended Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's speech on the security implications of climate change on Tuesday.
Raund will now attend the NATO summit, which he believes is especially important because misinformation is spreading like wildfire, and he sees the NATO invitation as an important opportunity to help his audience — mostly girls and young women between the ages of 16 and 24 — understand the importance of this alliance.
