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They're calling her an influencer. She's calling it campaign strategy.

They're calling her an influencer. She's calling it campaign strategy.

Yahoo16-07-2025
TUCSON, ARIZ. — On a Saturday afternoon, Deja Foxx is staging a TikTok Live in her living room. A phone tripod is set up in front of her kitchen table. The frame is centered on a slouchy sofa against an adobe wall, where a chile ristra hangs on one side.
'All right, everybody, take your seats,' she tells the mix of young volunteers, family members and campaign staff who are gathered to help her. 'You have some really great mail to open, and I'm so excited because usually it's just me and my mom that do this.'
She goes live and takes a seat next to her mom on the couch.
One volunteer reads a letter from a 19-year-old named Henry from California: 'Even though I can't vote for you, I adore your campaign,' he wrote. 'We need more young leaders and new, fresh ideas from us, Gen Z. As someone who grew up on MediCal, and free public school lunch, who currently is uninsured, I enjoy your background and fighting for us.'
Another volunteer read a note from 20-year-old Julie, who wrote that while she's been frustrated and overwhelmed by the state of politics, following Foxx's campaign gave her hope. 'I've been writing to my officials, but wanted to write something positive for a change. Keep doing what you're doing.'
Other letter writers included a 22-year-old activist who started organizing after the Parkland shooting, a college student in Phoenix who offered to work for Foxx's political office in the future, a 23-year-old from Chicago who started following her social media years ago, a North Carolina dad of a daughter moving to Arizona, and a Kentucky woman worried about Medicaid coverage. Volunteers spent 30 minutes reading that day's mail. During the weekly segment, the audience is usually in the thousands.
Most of the notes included a donation, with the amounts ranging from $20 to $2,000. By the end of the read out Foxx had raised $4,000, mostly from people located outside Arizona. Just two days before, she announced she hit $500,000 in campaign donations, raised through 18,000 individual donors.
Just two months ago, Foxx wrote on Substack about the difficulties of running her campaign for Congress as a Gen Z candidate. She made a plea directly to her online followers: 'Our biggest challenge and the only one that really matters: You haven't invested in us yet.'
At the time, a slow trickle of donations was keeping afloat her campaign to fill the seat left by U.S. Rep Raúl Grijalva, who represented the southern Arizona district for over 20 years.
Shortly after the lawmaker's death in March, his daughter Adelita Grijalva — who has served for decades in local politics on Tucson's school board and more recently on the Pima County Board of Supervisors — tossed her hat in the ring for the Democratic primary. Then came the endorsements: Arizona U.S. Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego, and progressive politicians like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The winner of that primary, which takes place July 15 and includes former state Rep. Daniel Hernandez, will almost certainly go on to win the September special election in this solidly Democratic district.
Foxx announced that she would take on Grijalva in early April. Most of her short political life — at 25, she would be the youngest woman elected to Congress — has focused on reproductive rights. She served on the board of Planned Parenthood in Arizona at age 17, worked in Tucson health clinics as a sex educator in high school, and more recently worked on the Prop 139 Ballot Initiative campaign in 2024, which enshrined the right to abortion in the state's constitution.
But while Foxx doesn't have the backing of 'the establishment,' as she refers to it, or the name recognition of Grijalva, she's created her own buzz by using her social media platforms to speak directly to her generation. Over the past month, her stories have been viewed almost 30 million times on TikTok, Facebook and Instagram. She also has thousands of followers on Substack. That support and the donations that followed afforded her television advertisements, something that was out of reach when she started.
Her social media savvy has allowed her to bypass the need for big donors, build her own following, and capitalize on national support that's percolated from the ground up. Along the way she's making the argument that her social media skills aren't just part of a campaign strategy, but necessary to communicate the politics of the party as the electorate grows younger and more disillusioned.
'We saw people in the party, in the traditional media, wringing their hands, 'How did we lose young people in this last election? Why did they move toward apathy and the other side? … And it's because we're failing to compete in social media and new media spaces,' Foxx said. 'If we want to win in 2028, I promise you that it is going to require electing leaders in this party who can be effective messengers.'
Foxx learned the power of a viral moment when she was a 16-year-old activist for Planned Parenthood. At a town hall in 2017, she asked former Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake (R) why he would deny her the American dream by voting against funding that made birth control accessible to people who grew up in poverty. Foxx, who was insured through Medicaid at the time, got her birth control from Planned Parenthood.
A clip of the exchange went viral. 'I woke up the next day and millions had seen the video,' she said. It's a moment that changed how she thought about activism. The fact that millions of people watched her on their phones and computers put her on equal footing in public discourse with the United States senator, she said. 'As a 16-year-old girl working at a gas station … that is remarkable.'
In the nine years since, the political world has grown to recognize the necessity of social media in campaigns, and politicians have turned to Foxx for her expertise. At the same time she was becoming a prominent reproductive rights activist, she used Instagram to build community among her peers through her organization Gen Z Girl Gang. She worked as an influencer and digital strategist for the Kamala Harris campaign in 2019 and later as a social media director at a political action committee. In 2024, she was invited to speak at the Democratic National Convention in support of Harris as an activist and content creator.
But it's in her own run for Congress where she has been able to test these communication strategies herself. On her TikTok and Instagram accounts, soundbites from her debates have racked up millions of views. More personal reels, like when she surprised her mom with her first batch of campaign literature, have gone viral. She's embraced being interviewed by independent journalists with followings on places like Substack and YouTube.
'She's using communication styles and platforms that are meeting people where they're at. That style may turn off some older voters, but it's going to excite younger voters who are particularly disaffected or disenfranchised or disheartened by American politics and even the Democratic party,' said Jessica Maddox, an associate professor of digital media at the University of Alabama. 'I've been particularly impressed with her TikTok presence, because it feels very authentic.'
That authenticity is the main ingredient in connecting with young voters online, experts say. Maddox and others pointed to the success of Zohran Mamdani's mayoral campaign in New York as an example of how young politicians are tapping into social media to drum up real support at the polls. Both candidates utilized platforms to engage with people, like Gen Z, who are likely to sit out primaries where voters tend to be older.
The strategy puts lesser known candidates on a more equal playing field, allowing them to subvert the traditional hierarchies that fuel campaigns. 'There's always been a tight relationship between legacy media and politics, and social media kind of upends that,' Maddox said. '[Foxx] can kind of bypass more traditional outlets and get the message out herself.'
Social media has also turned a local race into a national fundraiser, which has helped her stay competitive. Candidates like Grijalva and Hernandez have benefited from deeper donor pockets, and outside support from political action committees. By early May, both candidates had already raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to the Arizona Republic. Their latest campaign finance numbers are expected to be released soon. Foxx announced she had hit $600,000 in donations at the end of June.
'It's an interesting social media element that someone these days could have supporters kind of all over the country, even though they're running for a very specific seat,' said Kathryn Coduto, a professor of media science at Boston University.
While there is a scarcity of polls in the race, a recent one commissioned by Foxx's campaign shows her name recognition has risen significantly since May, when half of likely voters hadn't heard of her. And, on Wednesday, David Hogg's political action committee announced it would be endorsing her in the race. Hogg, who became famous for his activism after the Parkland mass shooting, now runs a political organization called Leaders We Deserve, aimed at building generational change for Democrats.
'If we replace one of the oldest members of Congress with the youngest — Deja is just 25 years old — we could send an incredibly strong message about which direction the Democratic Party is heading in, and show people how we are dramatically changing to meet this moment,' Hogg said in an Instagram Reel.
While Foxx has worked as an influencer in the past, now that she's running for office that label has been used to undercut her years of political work and activism. At her first debate, Foxx also pointed out that some of her opponents have belittled her influencer experience. In recent news articles, people associated with Grijalva's campaign have questioned whether Foxx's national reach is the same as in-district community support.
The label 'influencer' carries a lot of baggage, experts say. It's still seen as superficial or trivial despite its power in activism and politics. It's also another way of writing off young people, particularly women, as unserious.
'It's seen as like little girls playing instead of actually utilizing this tool to accomplish something and talk to constituents,' Coduto said.
Jade Larson, who wrote her doctoral dissertation on political fandom and social media, said it's also not surprising that there is such a stigma around being a politician-influencer.
'Every time media is used in a new way in politics, it's this scandalous thing,' she said. 'You can track it all the way back to Bill Clinton going on the 'Late Night Show' and playing saxophone, to Obama starting POTUS on Twitter, to Trump making his own social media [network]. It's always something that's scandalous, and people push back against it until it kind of becomes the mainstream and the norm.'
Arguably it is the mainstream now. The power of social media that Foxx tapped into nearly a decade ago has only grown more influential in politics and the media — two industries that are closely intertwined. A report from Pew Research Center found that over half of U.S. adults get some of their news from social media, with women and Democrats making up greater regular news consumers on apps like TikTok and Instagram. These users also skew younger, with those between the ages of 18 to 40 making up the bulk of social media news consumers. In a separate poll by Pew Research, 48 percent of TikTok users ages 18 to 29 say keeping up with politics is one of the reasons they are on the platform.
'A whole lot of congresspeople can give a very solid MSNBC interview,' Foxx said. But as someone who interviewed them as a content creator at the State of the Union, 'I'm telling you that when they are put in front of an iPhone, there are so many members that fail to communicate. They don't think the way that our generation thinks. They fail to understand sound bites and algorithms, and youth or even meme culture.'
At the same time that these social media strategies are taking off, voting power is also starting to shift to the very people that use them. Soon, Gen Z and Millennials will have just as much political sway as Gen X and the Baby Boomers — if they go out and vote, Coduto said.
'If you can cultivate enough excitement and you can find a way to really break through and get people to the polls by using social media, then I think it's going to be an unstoppable strategy.'
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Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The "clean girl" aesthetic, long the defining look of social media's minimalists and wellness aspirants, is being eclipsed by a new wave of chaotic chic. The rise of the "messy cool girl" signals a shift in how beauty, style and authenticity are being reimagined by Gen Z—and it is anything but beige. "Beauty is such an accessible way to signal who we are and how we are feeling," Angie Meltsner, founder of cultural research studio Tomato Baby, told Newsweek. "The move away from clean girl comes at a time of major uncertainty in the world, and a way of coping with that uncertainty can be embracing a kind of chaotic, subversive energy, which is being channeled into these bold, maximalist, playful looks." This pivot from polished to unfiltered, driven by stars like Addison Rae and Olivia Rodrigo, is gaining traction across TikTok and beyond, where wired headphones, oversized bags, and deliberately scruffy yet still effortlessly chic hair are being celebrated as part of a wider pushback against curated perfection. From left: "Messy cool girl" Alexa Chung attends the British Fashion Awards, London, in 2008; and "clean girl" Hailey Bieber walks around Los Angeles, California, on December 13, 2024. From left: "Messy cool girl" Alexa Chung attends the British Fashion Awards, London, in 2008; and "clean girl" Hailey Bieber walks around Los Angeles, California, on December 13, 2024. Getty Images Gone are the dewy no-makeup makeup looks and neutral-toned outfits epitomized by trendsetters like Hailey Bieber and Matilda Djerf. In their place, messy buns, indie sleaze layering and a cigarette hanging from the lip à la 2000s-era Kate Moss signal an aesthetic marked by attitude over appearance. Anne Valois, a 31-year-old creator who posts under the handle @curatingambiance, laid out the trend's momentum in a TikTok video from July 7. "After years of Minimalism and quiet luxury, the messy cool girl is back," she said. "The idea was polished and optimized, but lately that [clean girl] aesthetic is starting to unravel; it's not just a vibe." @curatingambiance The messy era is back. And by no means do I mean the song. I mean an actual cultural shift: away from beige minimalism, toward character, chaos, and mood. If you're building a brand or working in marketing, this isn't just an aesthetic trend - it's a real consumer shift, backed by data. Platforms like Particl make it traceable ✨ Not just what brands post - but what actually sells. The Messy Comeback is here. Might want to take notes. Annonce #trendforecast #stylesignals #particl #culturalshift ♬ original sound - Anne Valois Valois noted that this is more than a superficial trend reversal. Pointing to real-time consumer data tracked by the platform Particl, she highlighted surging interest in products and behaviors far removed from the clean-girl canon. "Tobacco products are up 843 percent; alcoholic beverages, up nearly 1,000 percent in the past 12 months," she said. Valois also cited brands such as Coach and Ganni as beneficiaries of this shift—labels with a looser, more character-driven design ethos than the quiet-luxury titans that dominated in recent years. "Suddenly, having a beer in cowboy boots feels more aspirational than having a green juice and going to Pilates," Valois said. "It's less about optimization and more about character, pleasure and mood. Day-to-night dressing is trending, and imperfect beauty is back." Anne Valois, who splits her time between Mexico, Florida and Europe, said that the increasing presence of the messy cool girl trend is a reaction to "a collective unraveling" of the clean girl aesthetic and a return of character. "What began as a calming, minimalist ideal has become something more rigid," Valois told Newsweek. "The clean girl look became more about performance than personality, and people are exhausted by the pressure to look the same, behave the same and follow identical routines. From left: "Messy cool girl" Addison Rae performs with Arca at the Gobi Tent during the 2025 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 13, 2025; and "clean girl" Hailey Bieber attending the 2025... From left: "Messy cool girl" Addison Rae performs with Arca at the Gobi Tent during the 2025 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 13, 2025; and "clean girl" Hailey Bieber attending the 2025 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on March 2, 2025. More "Conformity used to be a status symbol, looking like everyone else was once aspirational, but now it reads more like a lack of imagination or algorithmic compliance." Cultural researchers see the change as deeply entwined with larger social dynamics. "Young people are feeling fatigued with the pressure of a hyper-manicured perfection that dominates social media and influencer culture," Meltsner said. "They yearn for some hedonism and a sense of letting loose without judgment." The clean-girl look—"glazed doughnut" skin, slicked-back hair, pastel and beige palettes, a matcha latte in hand—once symbolized control, health, and upwardly mobile chic. It aligned with minimalist tech aesthetics and the aspirational self-branding of a generation raised on Instagram. But, over time, its uniformity began to chafe against a broader cultural desire for imperfection and uniqueness. "We're also living in the age of algorithmic-driven cultural flattening," Meltsner said, "and a way of rejecting that is by embracing personal taste and expression, leaning into the quirks that show that we're unique and human. "We're seeing this through more analogue and DIY-inspired looks like wired headphones or 1990s and Y2K aesthetics, and even intentional typos to signify non-AI writing." Addison Rae as Today's Messy Cool Girl The aesthetics of the messy girl are not sloppy—they are intentional, playful and referential. The look channels late-2000s It-girls such as Alexa Chung, Sienna Miller and Gossip Girl character Serena van der Woodsen, all known for tousled hair, oversized sunglasses, thrift-store finds and nonchalant confidence. Addison Rae, former TikTok star who more recently pivoted into movies and music, is being heralded as the current poster girl for the messy cool girl revival. With indie-style music videos and unedited social media posts strongly resembling a MySpace or Tumblr profile from over a decade ago, Rae leans into an undone aesthetic. The "Diet Pepsi" singer has been applauded for showing more authentic, no-makeup and disheveled hair looks than her more traditionally glam Gen Z peers in showbiz, like Sabrina Carpenter. Rae has also collaborated with resident cool girl, Charli XCX, who spearheaded the "Brat summer" trend of 2024 and is known for leaning into indie sleaze and hyperpop. Rae, by association, has become synonymous with this cool girl archetype, softening it slightly, making her a perfect addition to the messy cool girl's Pinterest board. Gen Z singer Olivia Rodrigo has also been held up for conveying a more authentic look, often made up from attainable 2000s and 90s inspired soft grunge pieces. On TikTok, where trends can crystallize in seconds, other creators are celebrating this new mood with posts that show off bedhead and oversized tote bags brimming with personal clutter. Alexan Ashcraft, posting as @trendsofthetimes, declared in a March 31 update that the messy girl's appeal lies in her "carefree spirit" and in being herself. Ashcraft, the 25-year-old founder of digital magazine Trends of the Times, told Newsweek: "The messy girl comeback is not just another TikTok trend, it's a mindset shift, a cultural reset." Much like Valois, Ashcraft said that trends can be more complex than they appear, often reflecting deeper social changes. "We live in an age where visibility is currency, and image can make or break your chances of it," she said. "On the surface, the clean girl might have symbolized simplicity and polish, but it has just become another symbol of pressure to keep up, look perfect, stay relevant, and be seen. "In contrast to the clean girl–polished, on trend, and picture perfect–the messy girl is disheveled, unplugged, and unbothered, she opts out of the algorithm, and she does not subscribe to trends; she does not dress or buy for posts, likes, or to be seen." Ashcraft added that the messy girl's so-called dismissal of trends is what makes her cool, captivating and a source of intrigue in the first place. Eagle-eyed creators like Valois and Ashcraft believe the trend reflects a rejection of Minimalism and productivity culture, while signaling a desire for depth, humor and human messiness—the kind that resists optimization. As Valois put it: "It's not just aesthetic fatigue; it's cultural realignment."

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