Around 1,500 social media influencer accounts were involved in covert or under-the-radar campaigning during the 2022 Philippine presidential elections

27 Jan 2026

This study estimates the number of social media influencers on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and YouTube, and the amount of money spent on them during the 2022 Philippine presidential elections. We used an interdisciplinary approach combining qualitative social science research, computational methods, and economic modelling. Our close and in-depth examination of social media channels and interviews with influencers, campaign managers and staff, and political and advertising consultants revealed a high demand for influencers to campaign for political candidates. Meanwhile, through computational methods, we identified 1,425 influencer accounts across the four platforms that were engaging in covert or under-the-radar ways of campaigning for politicians on their channels. Finally, through economic modeling, we estimated that at least $27 million was spent on influencers, if they were paid per post online (pay-per-post compensation model), or $10.9 million if influencers were commissioned within a specific time period and paid a fixed price (retainer model). Our work also serves as a model for election research and policy that can be employed to examine online political campaigns in different contexts.

This article presents a conceptual and methodological framework for defining the boundaries of the constantly evolving field of political campaigns, with influencers as exemplary covert political campaigners. It builds on early research that focuses on political influencers and the mediatization of politics. A critical contribution of the research is its interdisciplinary methodology that integrates qualitative social science and computational communication methods, which is uncommon in communication research (see Ophir et al., 2020). Our contribution also extends its empirical utility using economic modeling. This article serves as a model for both election research and election policy by providing a modular framework that addresses gaps in knowledge about the scope, scale, and cost of covert influence operations specific to each country or regional context.

Authors: Fatima Gaw (Northwestern University), Jon Benedik A. Bunquin (University of Oregon | University of the Philippines Diliman), Jose Mari H. Lanuza (University of Massachusetts Amherst | University of the Philippines Manila), Samuel I. Cabbuag (Hong Kong Baptist University | University of the Philippines Diliman), Noreen H. Sapalo (University of the Philippines Diliman) and Al-Habbyel Yusoph (Bocconi University)

Read the full paper: https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448241312191

Image by Gert Altmann from Pixabay

Around 1,500 social media influencer accounts were involved in covert or under-the-radar campaigning during the 2022 Philippine presidential elections

This study estimates the number of social media influencers on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and YouTube, and the amount of money spent on them during the 2022 Philippine presidential elections. We used an interdisciplinary approach combining qualitative social science research, computational methods, and economic modelling. Our close and in-depth examination of social media channels and interviews with influencers, campaign managers and staff, and political and advertising consultants revealed a high demand for influencers to campaign for political candidates. Meanwhile, through computational methods, we identified 1,425 influencer accounts across the four platforms that were engaging in covert or under-the-radar ways of campaigning for politicians on their channels. Finally, through economic modeling, we estimated that at least $27 million was spent on influencers, if they were paid per post online (pay-per-post compensation model), or $10.9 million if influencers were commissioned within a specific time period and paid a fixed price (retainer model). Our work also serves as a model for election research and policy that can be employed to examine online political campaigns in different contexts.

This article presents a conceptual and methodological framework for defining the boundaries of the constantly evolving field of political campaigns, with influencers as exemplary covert political campaigners. It builds on early research that focuses on political influencers and the mediatization of politics. A critical contribution of the research is its interdisciplinary methodology that integrates qualitative social science and computational communication methods, which is uncommon in communication research (see Ophir et al., 2020). Our contribution also extends its empirical utility using economic modeling. This article serves as a model for both election research and election policy by providing a modular framework that addresses gaps in knowledge about the scope, scale, and cost of covert influence operations specific to each country or regional context.

Authors: Fatima Gaw (Northwestern University), Jon Benedik A. Bunquin (University of Oregon | University of the Philippines Diliman), Jose Mari H. Lanuza (University of Massachusetts Amherst | University of the Philippines Manila), Samuel I. Cabbuag (Hong Kong Baptist University | University of the Philippines Diliman), Noreen H. Sapalo (University of the Philippines Diliman) and Al-Habbyel Yusoph (Bocconi University)

Read the full paper: https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448241312191

Image by Gert Altmann from Pixabay