Part 8 — What are the digital trends for politics and diplomacy?
Last week, we celebrated Christmas at the White House with other creators and the Bidens! Today, let's continue to focus on 2025 digital, content, and social media trends.
💬 Quick CONVERSATION STARTERS:
Before we delve into Part 8…
Why are creators celebrating Christmas at the White House?
What a magic night last week at the White House celebrating the holidays with the Bidens in a room full of creators and influencers.
“You use your influence and the platforms you have to do everything that needs to be done, providing news and information to the country in a way that is unvarnished,” President Joe Biden said. “You’re lifting up voices in the community, and you’re empowering people to feel seen and heard, which they don’t feel very much these days.”
With First Lady Jill Biden at his side, the President thanked creators for “using your creativity, incredible platforms and voices to keep inspiring folks to believe in what we’re going to accomplish together.”
He added: “It’s a different press. It’s a time in American history we’re at an inflection point. Things are changing, usually driven by technology. There’s a fundamental change in the way the press works, the way communication works. You all speak straight to the American people and it matters a lot.”
How many parts is this Substack series?
When we started this series on digital trends in politics and diplomacy we thought it was going to be just a few posts… We’re now Part 8! And a few more are in the pipeline.
For this Christmas week, what a treat to hear from 3 rockstar experts (and friends):
, author of , Stefano De Cupis at the World Bank, and , author of .Don’t miss Part 1 and Part 2 and Part 3 and Part 4 and Part 5 and Part 6 and Part 7, with insights from Ryan Heath at Robin AI, Rina Shah, Matthias Lüfkens, Ashwath Narayanan at Social Currant, Aleksandra Kuzmanovic at the World Health Organization (WHO), Bhumika Regmi at Malala Fund, Aubrey Ottenstein at Hilltop, Valentina Tonutti of Fuori dal PED, Dan Morrison, Patricia Gruver-Barr, Dante Licona, Erika Marzano at DW, Marco Ricorda, Stéphanie Fillion, Roxy Ndebumadu, Gerry Diaz Bartolome, Anja Gabriel, and Alessandro Tommasi.
🎄 🎁 Happy holidays! 🎅 🦌
Lia Haberman: “It’s a challenging time to be in social media”
* is a creator economy and digital marketing expert, advisor and educator who consults for brands such as Google, Robert Half, and AT&T. Lia teaches social media marketing and influencer marketing at UCLA and has created custom lectures for students at USC, Zhejiang University, SKEMA Business School, and ESIC University. She is also the author and founder of , a weekly marketing newsletter for about 30,000 subscribers that Buffer has declared one of the Best Marketing Newsletters two years running. This past summer, she was one of the 100 creator economy experts invited by the White House for the first-ever White House Creator Economy Summit, a one-day event hosted by senior administration officials and headlined by President Joe Biden.
1) What do you think are the top opportunities and challenges for politics and diplomacy in the digital space?
The opportunities and challenges for politics and diplomacy in the digital space are essentially the same. Digital platforms offer countless ways to reach people and share information through established, emerging, and alternative channels. If your audience isn’t on one platform, you can almost certainly find them on another.
However, this strains the resources of most communications and social media teams. Even with a cross-posting strategy, the effort required for content creation, posting, and staying up to date on each platform is significant. And that’s before factoring in things like community management and social reporting. It’s a challenging time to be in social media.
2) What's your take in the debate regarding the role of the media v content creators and influencers?
Creators who know their beat, do their research, and fact-check their information are credible news sources. But here’s my hot take: this debate is a moot point. What matters most is, who do audiences want to hear from? Increasingly, the answer is creators. People still seek information from trusted voices — it’s just that the prominent voices have changed, and they vary wildly across platforms.
We saw President Biden grasp this fundamental communication shift earlier this year, hosting the White House’s first ever Creator Economy Conference. Here’s what he acknowledged: Creators speak straight to the American people. So, we can’t force people to tune in to the news we think is important; instead, we need to collaborate with the creators who have earned the trust and attention of the public.
3) What are your predictions for digital in 2025 and beyond?
In the private sector, we’re seeing a rise in consumer co-creation. Online audiences expect brands to listen to their feedback and respond accordingly, incorporating insights into their marketing campaigns and across the the business to improve products and services.
Social has never been a one way conversation but more than ever, online audiences expect to be collaborators in their experiences. We need to ask ourselves if we’re creating an environment that values those voices and prioritizes their suggestions, not just among the social media team but across a government organization or diplomatic mission.
Stefano De Cupis: “My primary concern is actors exploiting AI tools for phishing emails, disinformation, and deepfake attacks”
* Stefano De Cupis is a Strategic Communications and External Affairs Officer in the World Bank Group’s Education Global Practice. He also supports strategic communications, partnerships, and engagement with key United Nations partners (i.e., African Development Bank, United Nations, and others). He has published extensively as United Nations Correspondent and authored various blogs. Stefano is also one of the top digital UN SDG Champions as well as LinkedIn Top Corporate Communications Voices and Google Maps Top Guides (15M+ views). Follow him on Twitter/X @StefanoDeCupis and LinkedIn.
1) What are some of the top communications opportunities and top challenges for international organizations like the UN and the World Bank?
Good question! The world of international organizations (IOs) is complex, as is their approach to communications. That's why there is no "one size fits all" answer to this question. However, considering my current "strategic communications field of action," that is, global education, I would list the following among the top communications opportunities:
Take advantage of our global advocacy and influence to humanize complex education issues in multiple languages by showcasing our impact and lessons learned, mainly through multimedia storytelling and strategic partnerships.
Organize flagship events or side events on global education during unique forums for multilateral discussions (e.g., UNGA, World Bank-IMF Annual / Spring Meetings, COP, etc.) and engage with our global audience using digital platforms (e.g., social media, newsletters, podcasts, etc.) on key campaigns (e.g., #EndLearningPoverty, #StartTheStory, #FundEducation), major publications (e.g., Choosing Our Future: Education for Climate Action, Education Finance Watch 2024), initiatives (e.g., Commitment to Action on Foundational Learning), operations (e.g., Côte d’Ivoire debt-for-development swap) and so forth.
Leverage data and analytics to enhance our comms strategy, reach, and impact.
Strengthening strategic advocacy partnerships with the UN system, multilateral development banks, civil society and youth organizations, foundations, philanthropists, community leaders, media, and the private sector.
On the other hand, regarding challenges, I am very concerned about misinformation, disinformation, and mal-information. We absolutely need to tackle them by putting on the front burner the fact of ensuring timely, neutral, inclusive, accurate as well as effective communications supported by key actors and influencers at all levels.
2) What is the best advice you have ever received during your career in communications?
The best advice I received in my career in strategic communications was to always prepare as many alternative options and/or scenarios as possible. Our sector is a very hard one. We need to tackle multiple issues, ranging from connectivity failures to incorrect data and several others (e.g., a key speaker's last-minute no-show, sensitive topics, crisis comms, etc.).
3) What are your predictions for digital diplomacy in 2025 and beyond?
Based on some readings, chats with colleagues, and events I attended, I guess the use of virtual/augmented reality (e.g., immersive stories, virtual meetings, etc.) and AI (e.g., geopolitics trend analysis, simultaneous interpretation, document drafting, and so on) will exponentially increase, as will a strong reliance on digital platforms to get live news and updates. However, my primary concern is actors exploiting AI tools for phishing emails, disinformation, and deepfake attacks.
Francesco Oggiano: “The greatest opportunities come from the collapse of barriers”
* is a digital journalist, active on Instagram: @fraoggiano. He runs , a newsletter with a community of thousands of digital creatives. He has recently launched his own YouTube channel where he discusses media case studies that help explain the mechanisms of information. He is the author of Sociability: How Social Media Is Changing the Way We Get Information and Engage in Activism (Edizioni Piemme, 2022).
1) What are the main opportunities and challenges for digital journalism today?
The greatest opportunities come from the collapse of barriers. Until a few years ago, creating a media company was a privilege reserved for those with significant financial resources and an established network of contacts. Today, thanks to technology and new platforms, anyone can launch a media product from scratch at minimal cost and, theoretically, have nearly the same chances of success as a millionaire.
This has opened the door for many new digital journalists, educators, and creators. The challenges, however, remain similar to those of traditional journalism. Establishing authority and credibility in an increasingly fragmented and crowded media landscape is essential. Journalists must also adapt to platform-specific languages and constantly refine monetization strategies to keep the pace with changing times.
2) Do you see differences between the US and Europe when it comes to the media—legacy or not—and how journalists embrace the digital age?
I do, though I’m basing this on personal experience rather than data.
In Italy, there seems to be a deeper divide between “older” and “younger” journalists. The original sin of Italian digital journalism was committed in the early 2010s when newspapers began building online departments. At that time, newsrooms split into two entirely separate sub-teams: traditional journalists focused solely on print; and the digital journalists managing the website. This separation led to missed opportunities for collaboration and mutual learning.
In the United States, I believe this divide is less pronounced. In the US, more traditional journalists have approached the digital age with curiosity, interest, and a willingness to learn.
3) What are your digital predictions for 2025 and beyond?
I believe the podcast bubble will finally burst. Podcasts won’t disappear, but fewer players — those who are solid and authoritative — will remain, and there will be a shift toward video podcasts.
Another key challenge will be reducing the “noise.” The goal will be to create products that are increasingly independent of algorithms, offering readers fewer, but carefully selected, stories in a clean, organized way. I expect to see renewed experimentation with classic websites as a result.
Lastly, YouTube will continue to strengthen its position, even in the news space. More journalists will experiment with the platform, which, despite being the oldest, has proven to be the most resilient of them all. YouTube remains a reliable tool in an ever-changing landscape.