The rise of influencers within the 2025 election panorama

The largest affect on public notion of the 2025 election marketing campaign was not coverage. It was identification, tradition wars, and a rising worry of Australia ‘changing into America’. What started as a deal with easing the price of residing shortly widened right into a broader debate about nationwide identification. Media protection and social media feeds revealed a tug of conflict. On one aspect was coverage messaging. On the opposite, gaining appreciable floor, had been tradition and identification narratives fuelled by anxiousness over exterior affect.

At the beginning of the election cycle in early March, information protection centred on value of residing pressures and tax cuts. The Labor authorities’s funds announcement and the Liberal Celebration’s response cemented the agenda, with subjects like grocery store value gouging, gasoline excises, and nuclear vitality proposals hanging a chord with voters. Early dialogue on social media confirmed a transparent deal with making life extra inexpensive for households. However within the background, frustration round Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs and issues about Australia–U.S. relations started to floor. Peter Dutton’s early promise to chop 40,000 public service jobs and push for a return to workplace work additional fuelled comparisons between Dutton and Trump amongst Australian audiences.

Because the election cycle progressed, worldwide occasions and conflicts moved to the forefront. Trump’s presence in world headlines alongside Canada’s equally timed election, intensified comparisons between Australian and Canadian public attitudes towards American affect. Media narratives shifted from home cost-of-living issues to broader conversations about defending the Australian lifestyle and defending nationwide pursuits significantly in schooling, reshaping the battleground on which voters made their selections.

On March 28, protection and dialogue spiked as Anthony Albanese formally introduced the election date. Earlier, on March 10, a surge in dialog centred on new polling that prompt a possible hung parliament, sharpening media deal with Labor. Albanese’s look on At this time, the place he responded to frustrations about delayed campaigning with, “We’re nearly serving to individuals, as a result of that’s what individuals anticipate,” strengthened his picture as a community-focused chief and contrasted with how previous prime ministers had been criticised throughout disasters. In the meantime, Peter Dutton’s social media consideration rose on April 12, as stories surfaced of his opponent Ali France main in Dickson whereas an area tent encampment was demolished by Moreton Bay Council. Dutton, campaigning in Perth throughout the demolition, attracted criticism. A number of days later, a compilation of clips linking Dutton to Donald Trump circulated extensively. These moments highlighted the distinct management kinds that formed voter perceptions all through the marketing campaign.

Though Labor drew essentially the most consideration general, Dutton and the Liberals gained momentum throughout social media. The Liberal Celebration’s early use of traits, AI instruments, and memes attracted dialog, however the involvement of influencers and podcasts proved polarising. Protection additionally highlighted a generational divide, with younger girls leaning left and younger males leaning proper. Influencers performed a key function in shaping these dynamics, from Albanese’s Joyful Hour podcast look on March 26, the place his “delulu with no solulu” problem dominated information cycles, to Dutton’s interview on Sam Fricker’s podcast aimed toward younger male voters. Because the marketing campaign progressed, information more and more centered on character assaults and gaffes on the expense of coverage debate. Points like housing, grocery store competitors, HECS aid, and vitality payments remained core to occasion platforms, however many audiences had been drawn into yarns overlaying persona clashes and tradition wars.

Probably the most shared information gadgets from the start of the marketing campaign to lately underline this shift of consideration to cultural battle. Posts in regards to the mobilisation of Muslim voters round Gaza, criticism of Liberal candidates campaigning in navy uniforms, warnings about public service job cuts, and debates over the political leanings of younger male voters all reveal how particular cultural flashpoints and area of interest group appeals dominated dialogue. As an alternative of broad coverage debates, election discourse was fragmented into controversies that infected identity-driven tensions, polarised audiences, and heightened mistrust.

Whether or not leaders spoke about getting Australia again on monitor, constructing a greater Australia, and even making Australia nice once more, these slogans signalled clear messages to voters. Most of the time, the general public expressed a need to distance Australia from america, significantly in defending healthcare and schooling programs that set Australia aside. Early within the marketing campaign, when a journalist prompt Anthony Albanese’s use of “construct again higher” echoed Joe Biden’s slogan, the remark was shortly dismissed. Although not formally endorsed, the slogan’s use by Jacinta Worth and Clive Palmer shortly eclipsed occasion traces, fuelling memes and comparisons to US Republicans throughout social media. This did little to assist the Liberals distance their official slogan, ‘Get Australia again on monitor,’ from US political parallels. As Trump’s affect turned a speaking level, glimpses of Trump-style messaging had been eagerly picked up by information shops and social media alike, typically overshadowing Labor’s marketing campaign messaging and limiting its cut-through.

Because the marketing campaign unfolded, it turned tougher to separate coverage from persona or guarantees from the cultural narratives surrounding them. Media and social media consideration did greater than mirror public curiosity. They helped form it, steering the election dialog towards identification, values, and questions on Australia’s place in a altering world. Whether or not that affect outweighed coverage in swaying voters continues to be up for debate, nevertheless it clearly modified how the marketing campaign was seen, shared, and remembered.

Uncover extra of our political information companies

”
(“post_title”)=>
string(68) “Did tradition wars lower via greater than coverage on the election path?”
(“post_excerpt”)=>
string(0) “”
(“post_status”)=>
string(7) “publish”
(“comment_status”)=>
string(4) “open”
(“ping_status”)=>
string(4) “open”
(“post_password”)=>
string(0) “”
(“post_name”)=>
string(67) “did-culture-wars-cut-through-more-than-policy-on-the-election-trail”
(“to_ping”)=>
string(0) “”
(“pinged”)=>
string(0) “”
(“post_modified”)=>
string(19) “2025-05-01 04:22:11”
(“post_modified_gmt”)=>
string(19) “2025-05-01 04:22:11”
(“post_content_filtered”)=>
string(0) “”
(“post_parent”)=>
int(0)
(“guid”)=>
string(32) “https://www.isentia.com/?p=39594”
(“menu_order”)=>
int(0)
(“post_type”)=>
string(4) “publish”
(“post_mime_type”)=>
string(0) “”
(“comment_count”)=>
string(1) “0”
(“filter”)=>
string(3) “uncooked”
}

In Singapore, the rise of podcasting has shifted from leisure and life-style into a brand new enviornment – public discourse and politics. Because the 2025 Common Election attracts close to, podcasters are making waves throughout on-line information and social media. To kick issues off, we used Narrative AI, the primary search engine for public opinion, to establish how massive the worldwide narrative on podcasts and their affect on audiences is within the final 6 months, utilizing information from X.

We subsequently narrowed the main focus of this world pattern to Singapore and analysed on Pulsar TRAC greater than 7k mentions throughout platforms like YouTube, Fb, Reddit, TikTok, podcasts, On-line Information, blogs and boards to know the place the discourse is coming from, which channels are capturing the podcasters’ content material and the way audiences are responding to this content material. 

Mentions of podcasts in information and social media are rising

Social media is the place the bigger chunk of podcast dialog is happening, particularly these episodes that characteristic a political determine, journalist or people who embrace healthcare-related discussions. The audiences that have interaction with these movies, majority being on YouTube, seek for political credibility that resonates with them. Younger Singaporeans watching these podcasts anticipate to see leaders who don’t simply uphold the picture of being a politician, but in addition somebody who’s grounded and reliable.

Youth and politicians’ lives dominate podcast narratives

The audiences that devour these podcasts essentially the most are younger Singaporeans trying to take part within the dialog as a lot as they’ll. These audiences are being extra proactive than ever.

With youthful voters consuming media in a different way, these appearances are efforts by political candidates to attach with the general public. Lawrence Wong, Josephine Teo, Indranee Rajah, and Desmond Tan, have used podcasts to speak immediately with the general public – sidestepping conventional media filters.

High podcasters on election-related content material

Once we deal with who essentially the most talked about podcasters round election content material are, the Straits Occasions’ podcasts, the Every day Ketchup and Yah Lah BUT emerge on prime. These podcasts have figured that essentially the most discourse occurs round content material that’s both academic or controversial round elections. The general public is actively responding to political content material shared by way of podcasts, significantly these by The Straits Occasions and impartial exhibits like Yah Lah BUT. 

How are podcasts doing on Tiktok?

@thedailyketchup

Is WP really the broader tent? A closer look at how it compares to PAP. 🤔📊 #SingaporePolitics#WPvsPAP #GE2025 #SGOpposition #DailyKetchup

♬ original sound – The Daily Ketchup🚀 (TDK) – The Daily Ketchup🚀 (TDK)

Satire and irony are key methods to make politics palatable, particularly for youthful, digital-native audiences. The Every day Ketchup and Yah Lah BUT are mixing severe subjects just like the GE2025, occasion agendas, healthcare, and opposition voices with humour that make them nearly meme-worthy. Posts akin to “PAP actually mentioned: ‘Belief me, bro’” TikTok clips present that these are genuinely made for content material to go viral whereas retaining severe undertones too. 

What’s fascinating to notice is that The Widespread People, with content material in Malay and Indonesian, is tapping right into a cross-border Southeast Asian viewers and has a number of the highest engagement on its content material. Native slang, cultural jokes, and informal festive content material like Raya greetings and songkok jokes have generated hundreds of views, at occasions outperforming English-language political pods. This implies a big, under-acknowledged urge for food for vernacular podcast content material that has a mix of humour and relatability. 

Podcasts are not simply background noise – they’re changing into one of the crucial related methods Singaporeans have interaction with politics. With excessive engagement on platforms like TikTok and YouTube, a large unfold of subjects from youth points to occasion politics, and rising presence in each mainstream and social media, podcasters are carving out a key function in shaping the GE 2025 dialog. 

Excited about studying extra? E-mail us at data@isentia.com

”
(“post_title”)=>
string(64) “What’s making podcasts stand out forward of the Singapore GE2025?”
(“post_excerpt”)=>
string(0) “”
(“post_status”)=>
string(7) “publish”
(“comment_status”)=>
string(4) “open”
(“ping_status”)=>
string(4) “open”
(“post_password”)=>
string(0) “”
(“post_name”)=>
string(65) “what-is-making-podcasts-stand-out-ahead-of-the-singapore-election”
(“to_ping”)=>
string(0) “”
(“pinged”)=>
string(0) “”
(“post_modified”)=>
string(19) “2025-04-16 04:30:10”
(“post_modified_gmt”)=>
string(19) “2025-04-16 04:30:10”
(“post_content_filtered”)=>
string(0) “”
(“post_parent”)=>
int(0)
(“guid”)=>
string(32) “https://www.isentia.com/?p=39139”
(“menu_order”)=>
int(0)
(“post_type”)=>
string(4) “publish”
(“post_mime_type”)=>
string(0) “”
(“comment_count”)=>
string(1) “0”
(“filter”)=>
string(3) “uncooked”
}

Because the federal election marketing campaign reaches its midpoint, patterns in media protection and public consideration are starting to shift. Early social engagement was pushed by cost-of-living pressures, vitality coverage, and political point-scoring, however has waned following the primary leaders debate, regardless of this discussion board offering leaders the chance to set the agenda and methods of the key events. So how has protection focus developed because the first debate and are audiences nonetheless participating with the marketing campaign or switching off?

Social media engagement forward of the federal election has been sharp and private. It centered much less on coverage and extra on identification and illustration. From debates on subjects akin to  immigration to housing stress and tradition, social media has pushed a values-first narrative. However whereas early consideration  was robust, each media protection and social engagement have began to wane within the weeks because the marketing campaign launched. The primary leaders debate briefly reignited consideration—belief, identification, and media—however protection patterns recommend a shift away from day by day blow-by-blow reporting in direction of broader social and cultural tensions.

Because the federal election marketing campaign nears its midway mark, final week’s media highlights present a contest nonetheless struggling to chop via. Key moments included the primary chief’s debate, the Treasurers Debate, the vitality showdown on the Nationwide Press Membership, and Senator Jacinta Worth’s Perth look with Peter Dutton, which drew consideration for its MAGA-style rhetoric.  The primary leaders debate was billed as an opportunity to reset the race—however for a lot of viewers, it strengthened present divides. Media consideration across the debate momentarily lifted visibility for all main events—however the spike was short-lived. The one occasion that has seen continued will increase in social media engagement is the Liberal Celebration. The Liberal Celebration’s sustained rise in social media engagement could also be linked to its digital-first technique, together with an AI-generated marketing campaign advert spruiking a gasoline excise lower and a meme-style diss monitor focusing on Anthony Albanese—ways designed to seize on-line consideration and drive shareability.

The Liberals additionally pitched a $1200 tax lower, Labor attacked their WFH backflip, and the Greens pushed housing and tax reform. In the meantime, Dutton warned of a Labor-Greens-Teal alliance. Protection suggests public engagement is pushed extra by polarising moments and political theatre than detailed coverage.

When the election marketing campaign formally kicked off, cost-of-living pressures dominated the information agenda. Contemporary off the again of the federal funds, it’s no shock that inexpensive healthcare, decrease fuel and vitality costs, and tax cuts had been the important thing messages occasion leaders needed to land with voters. However protection shortly pivoted. Prior to now week, overseas diplomacy—significantly how every chief would handle Donald Trump—has surged in prominence. Whereas Trump’s function in tariff threats has made headlines, his affect on the broader election narrative goes past commerce. Media reporting has more and more centred on Albanese and Dutton’s capability to navigate a possible Trump presidency, with ideological alignment, nationwide safety, and financial fallout all in play. The primary leaders’ debate was anticipated to refocus the marketing campaign on home points. Nonetheless, it briefly touched on worldwide issues, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addressing the potential financial impression of Trump’s proposed tariffs. Albanese described these tariffs as an “act of financial self-harm” that will dampen world development, highlighting the intertwining of overseas coverage with home financial issues. This implies that sustained consideration is extra possible when home points are reframed via the lens of overseas diplomacy, and nationwide identification.

Within the social media panorama, Trump was a flashpoint in election-related dialog. His affect—actual or perceived—was shortly linked to the Liberal Celebration, with MAGA-style rhetoric and Trumpian coverage cues gaining traction on-line. These narratives are inclined to escalate on platforms the place ideological alignment and cultural grievance amplify engagement. But it surely wasn’t all imported tradition wars—the federal funds, and the Liberal Celebration’s gasoline excise rebuttal, additionally drove vital social chatter. In latest weeks, comparisons between main occasion messaging and Trump-era coverage—from worldwide scholar caps and nuclear vitality to debates about faculty curricula—have continued to dominate dialogue.

The primary leaders’ debate briefly touched on overseas coverage, with Albanese warning Trump’s tariffs might harm world development, whereas Dutton framed it as a check of robust management. Domestically, Dutton’s renewed push for nuclear energy reignited social media debate—drawing comparisons to Trump-era insurance policies and fuelling dialogue about Australia’s vitality future. On the identical time on social media, guarantees like HECS cuts, free TAFE, and extra funding for public faculties sparked real engagement, particularly amongst youthful voters and schooling employees, displaying that sensible, future-focused insurance policies can nonetheless lower via. In comparison with the beginning of the marketing campaign, the place cost-of-living dominated as a top-line concern, the dialog has expanded: audiences are actually weighing each hip-pocket points and the nationwide values shaping Australia’s future.

Whereas the controversy itself tended to be overshadowed by frustrations about entry and media management, a number of political undercurrents nonetheless surfaced. Anthony Albanese drew some constructive mentions, however reactions had been removed from policy-focused. The Liberal Celebration’s early declare of victory turned some extent of humour, with a number of customers likening it to Trump-style misinformation ways. Disillusionment with the key events ran deep, with repeated calls to “break the donor-fuelled duopoly” and shift help towards independents or smaller events. Nonetheless, these reactions appear extra like a symptom of broader voter cynicism than an indication of energised political engagement, reflecting broader themes across the declining belief.

The leaders’ debate didn’t reset the race—it refracted it, spotlighting how media protection is now formed much less by coverage element and extra by polarising symbols and cultural cues. As election day nears, the competition for consideration is revealing simply as a lot about media technique and voter fatigue as it’s about occasion platforms.

Uncover extra of our political information companies

”
(“post_title”)=>
string(78) “Did the leaders debate reignite voter curiosity or simply stoke the tradition wars?”
(“post_excerpt”)=>
string(0) “”
(“post_status”)=>
string(7) “publish”
(“comment_status”)=>
string(4) “open”
(“ping_status”)=>
string(4) “open”
(“post_password”)=>
string(0) “”
(“post_name”)=>
string(77) “did-the-leaders-debate-reignite-voter-interest-or-just-stoke-the-culture-wars”
(“to_ping”)=>
string(0) “”
(“pinged”)=>
string(0) “”
(“post_modified”)=>
string(19) “2025-04-15 23:49:24”
(“post_modified_gmt”)=>
string(19) “2025-04-15 23:49:24”
(“post_content_filtered”)=>
string(0) “”
(“post_parent”)=>
int(0)
(“guid”)=>
string(32) “https://www.isentia.com/?p=39117”
(“menu_order”)=>
int(0)
(“post_type”)=>
string(4) “publish”
(“post_mime_type”)=>
string(0) “”
(“comment_count”)=>
string(1) “0”
(“filter”)=>
string(3) “uncooked”
}