Not long ago, it was common wisdom(普遍看法) among social media influencers that they shouldn’t talk politics. There was a widespread belief among their crowd that it was bad for business. If you went left, you lost the right, and vice-versa.(你站了左派，就会失去右派受众，反之亦然。)
不久前，社交媒体网红圈还普遍认为不该碰政治。他们圈子里广泛相信，谈政治对生意不利。你站了左派，就会失去右派受众，反之亦然。
Times have changed(时代变了). Nearly everywhere you look online, influencers are posting political content. Each day, there are new reports detailing their hot takes(热辣点评) on elections, campaigns and the culture wars(文化战争). It’s become a lucrative(赚钱的) business for these creators, as they now like to be called, and a boost for those that pay them for hype(花钱买他们造势).
时代变了。如今在网上几乎随处可见网红发布政治内容。每天都有新报道细数他们对选举、竞选和文化战争的热辣点评。对这些人——他们现在喜欢被称作“创作者”——来说，这已成了一门赚钱的生意，也让花钱买他们造势的人获益。
There are a number of recent and high-profile(引人注目的) US examples of political influencers lending their clout(影响力), whether paid or unpaid: the Pentagon secretly assigned conservative influencers to promote Pete Hegseth(美国国防部长，保守派媒体人出身)’s so-called “warrior ethos(精神气质)” for the armed forces (a Pentagon spokesperson did not respond to the Washington Post’s question about whether they received a salary). The New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani, uses a network of friendly (unpaid) influencers to communicate with gen Z. During his failed run for governor of California, Tom Steyer hired creators to promote his campaign – some did not disclose that they got paid. When the former secretary of homeland security Kristi Noem toured an ICE(美国移民与海关执法局) facility in Portland, Oregon last year, she was accompanied by three conservative influencers; whether they were paid is unclear. Some creators seemingly become parts of the campaigns they endorse; others try hard to give the impression they are far removed.(有些创作者似乎成了他们所支持竞选活动的一部分；另一些人则竭力给人留下自己与之毫无瓜葛的印象。)
近期美国有不少引人注目的例子，显示政治网红在出借自己的影响力，无论有偿还是无偿：五角大楼秘密安排保守派网红为军队宣传皮特·赫格塞思所谓的“战士精神”（五角大楼发言人未回应《华盛顿邮报》关于他们是否领薪的提问）。纽约市长佐赫兰·马姆达尼借助一个友好的（无偿）网红网络与Z世代沟通。汤姆·斯泰尔在竞选加州州长失败期间，雇了创作者为他的竞选造势——其中一些人没有披露自己收了钱。去年，前国土安全部长克里斯蒂·诺姆视察俄勒冈州波特兰的一处移民与海关执法局设施时，有三名保守派网红随行；他们是否获得报酬尚不清楚。有些创作者似乎成了他们所支持竞选活动的一部分；另一些人则竭力给人留下自己与之毫无瓜葛的印象。