Source: Freepik.com
As traditional institutions struggle to maintain credibility, social media influencers are rising as alternative voices for the public. For many young people in Europe, influencers may feel more relatable than bureaucratic bodies or official channels. This article examines why this is happening, what evidence supports it, and how institutions can respond.
The rise of influencer trust
A growing percentage of research suggests that people – especially younger audiences – often trust influencers more than conventional advertisements or brand messages. According to the Digital Marketing Institute, around 69 % of consumers say they trust influencer recommendations more than standard ads.
The same Digital Marketing Institute report also found that 45 % of European Gen Z users are more likely to buy fashion items promoted by influencers than by celebrities or even their peers. This illustrates how deeply personal and persuasive the influencer–audience relationship has become — a kind of digital trust that traditional institutions are struggling to replicate.
Why do institutions struggle to connect?
EU institutions and national governments often speak in a very technical language, lengthy reports or press releases. These are the formats that feel distant and impersonal. Meanwhile, influencers use storytelling, direct address and authenticity to build a sense of personal connection.
One concept that helps explain this dynamic is parasocial interaction, which is the illusion of friendship or intimacy that media personalities create with their audiences, even without real reciprocal interaction. Research such as “Parasocial relations and social media influencers’ persuasive power” shows how followers can develop such perceived closeness with influencers, enhancing the influencer’s credibility and persuasive impact. This kind of bond is much harder for institutions to replicate — their communications are seen as formal, filtered, and bureaucratic.
Evidence from Europe
Trust in institutions has been under pressure. Eurofound documents a multi – year erosion of institutional trust across successive crises and shows how information sources (social vs. traditional media! relate to trust levels. At the same time, youth civic communication increasingly happens online and via peer voices. The Special Eurobarometer – Youth and Democracy offers a broad snapshot of how young people inform themselves and participate.
And the European Parliament’s engagement network Together.eu illustrates how institutions experiment with peer-to-peer mobilisation and collaborations with youth communities ahead of elections.
The risks behind the trust
While influencer communication feels authentic, it often lacks transparency. The European Commission (EC) warned that a large share of influencer content in the EU fails to disclose paid partnerships properly, raising concerns about manipulation and misinformation.
UNESCO similarly called for stronger fact-checking and media-literacy training for creators to reduce the spread of false or misleading content online. Institutions, despite their formality, still offer verified data and accountability—qualities vital for longterm public trust.
Source: Freepik.com