#rp25 speaker Patrick Stegemann: Does virality beat the truth?

When influencers enter politics, political parties lose control and the game for power is determined by engagement metrics: Is reach replacing traditional power structures in today's world? At re:publica, journalist and podcast producer Patrick Stegemann will talk about how influencers are not only shaping advertising and the public sphere, but also transforming politics.

Today, people who have a wide reach can also dominate the political debate independently of party structures. Examples of this dynamic include the MAGA movement, which is largely responsible for destabilising the Republican Party, or the Spanish influencer Alvise Pérez, who made it into the EU Parliament with his movement.

Patrick Stegemann writes: ‘Today we witness the consequences in their entirety. The aim of the tech elite was to replace the traditional gatekeepers in the media with the power of the many. Sold as democratisation, an alliance was formed with authoritarian movements worldwide. After Trump's election, Elon Musk wrote on his platform X: ‘You are the media now’. This sentence became the battle cry of right-wing influencers: ‘We are the media now’.’

Patrick Stegemann is a journalist, author and producer. He is also co-founder and managing director of the journalism office Undone, which has produced many award-winning podcasts such as Legion, Cui Bono and Noise in recent years. Patrick Stegemann has been working on digital strategies of the radical right for years and published the book ‘Die Rechte Mobilmachung’ together with Sören Musyal in 2020. His work has been honoured with the Reporter Prize and the Otto Brenner Prize, among others.