Carpet bombing vs. targeting: the impact of pro-government social media influencers during the 2022 Hungarian general election campaign

Hybrid media systems challenge the agenda-setting role of legacy media and political elites, and open new avenues for political parties and governments to push their narratives. Social media influencers have gained special prominence in accessing young audiences, which led to their incorporation into electoral campaigns. This paper explores how the Hungarian governing party, Fidesz, relied on social media influencers in its 2022 re-election bid, and evaluates the success of this strategy in reaching young audiences vis-à-vis other social media pages that share political content. The paper uses Facebook ad statistics to test how cooperation with pro-government influencers amplified the government’s narrative, especially among young voters under 35. It finds that pro-government influencers have been less efficient in reaching their desired audience, however, this was compensated by a vast budget and a “carpet-bombing” approach. The paper contributes to an emerging literature on the role of social media influencers as political agenda-setters.