The changes in the media landscape brought about by the rise of new media and social networks are gradually reflected in Czech politics. Previously, it was extremely important for a political party to maintain good relations with journalists; today, it is more important to hire the right influencers and people who understand what type of content and information the youngest citizens of the Czech Republic are looking for and demanding. Resisting this necessity is naive. It is crucial to understand what has happened in society over the past 20 years and why a short two minute clip on Instagram can have a greater impact, than ten-page essays in the most prestigious media outlets.

Key points of policy brief:

• Influencers are now an integral part of the advertising apparatus that has permeated society as a whole, including politics. The success of Filip Turek and Motoristé sobě is just a tiny part of the whole story.
• In the Czech Republic, there has been a phenomenon of political influencers who have each chosen a different strategy to monetize their influence.
• However, the current issue represents not only undisclosed cooperation with political parties and excuses about “strict separation of private and work matters,” but also the massive escalation of entertaining content that only pretends to be amusing, while in reality it aggressively sells and influences, most often targeting the youngest and most vulnerable.