The Biden campaign has taken over an Instagram fan account started by a 15-year-old

• The Biden Campaign has acquired a popular fan Instagram account created by a 15-year-old, The Verge reports.
• The account now has 94,000 followers, and the teen behind it has been brought onto the campaign as an official volunteer.
• This represents a big shift towards digital activism in the campaign, which last week released yard signs inside the popular game “Animal Crossing.”
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The Biden campaign is ratcheting up its online presence by scooping up a teen’s fan Instagram account.

The Verge reported Monday the Biden campaign had officially taken over an Instagram account originally started by a 15-year-old in California earlier this year. The account was originally called @TeamJoeBiden and managed to accrue 85,000 followers after beginning to post in April. 

It is now called @VoteJoe, has a verified tick, and more than 94,000 followers at time writing. According to The Verge, its teenage creator will now be volunteering for the campaign officially, creating content for the account after school alongside the campaign’s official social media team.

We’re fewer than 60 days away from one of the most important elections in modern history. We need a president that will restore the soul of this country. We need @joebiden.

A post shared by Vote Joe (@votejoe) on Sep 7, 2020 at 10:28am PDTSep 7, 2020 at 10:28am PDT

The Biden campaign told The Verge it also plans to use the account to boost other content from Biden supporters online.

Director of social and audience development Sarah J. Galvez told The Verge a fresh emphasis on digital advertising and social media is in part down to the pandemic, as the campaign needs to re-create the word-of-mouth conversations that would normally help fuel its efforts.

“What we’ve seen blowing up in places both in and outside of politics is a focus on shareable content,” said Galvez. “Previous to this, you would have these conversations with your friends, your colleagues, and your family in person. But as a result of Covid, we’re having these political conversations online

This isn’t the Biden campaign’s first unusual move into the digital space, as a week ago it announced the releasing virtual yard-signs for the popular video game “Animal Crossing: New Horizons.”