Alice Marie Johnson is a 63-year-old woman who was sentenced in 1996 to life in prison without parole for her involvement in nonviolent drug smuggling. Her case drew attention because her sentence was considered too harsh and because she did well in prison and actively cooperated with police investigations. Kim Kardashian learned about the case in 2017, so she took to social media to tell the story and mention how unfair she thought the case was, and in 2018 Kardashian met with then-President Trump to discuss the case, and finally in June 2018 Trump signed a pardon for Alice Marie Johnson.
In this case, Kardashian played the role of OPINION LEADER, posting her views on social media platforms through her own influence. According to Lazarsfeld, OPINION LEADERS can influence the views of people around them, bringing this otherwise underappreciated case into the mainstream, not only bringing it to widespread attention to elevate the case’s visibility, but also has fueled public discussion about prison reform and the criminal justice system. As the case came to light, many people expressed sympathy for Johnson, suggesting that Kardashian’s influence succeeded in changing attitudes in some quarters.
This incident led more and more people to pay attention to criminal justice reform, which ultimately led to the passage of the First Step Act of 2018, and Kardashian utilized her influence to create a feedback loop so that public attention led to the passage of the bill.
References:
Gonzalez, J. (2018) . Kim Kardashian’s Role in Alice Marie Johnson’s Release: A Case
Study in Social Media Advocacy. Journal of Social Media Studies, 10(2), 34-45.
Hoffman, K. (2021). Celebrity Advocacy and Criminal Justice Reform: The Kim Kardashian and Alice Marie Johnson Case. The Social Impact Review, 5(1), 12-23.
Lazarsfeld, P. F., Berelson, B., & Gaudet, H. (1944). The People’s Choice: How the Voter Makes Up His Mind in a Presidential Campaign. Columbia University Press.
Lee, S. (2019). Influencers and Social Change: The Impact of Celebrity Advocacy on Public Attitudes. Media and Society, 8(3), 56-72.
This is indeed a typical example of a two-step flow, where Kardashian successfully influenced the attitudes of some people as an influential opinion leader and thus passed a new bill. In my blog, I mentioned that opinion leaders no longer play their role as information disseminators in today’s media, but after reading your blog, I had to rethink the importance of opinion leaders. Anyway, thank you for your blog! I will continue to research.
The case study about Kim Kardashian you have chosen is a great example of the topic of the two-step flow theory due to the celebrity being well known so it will grab the attention of those interested in her life. I agree with the Kardashian being seen as the opinion leader as she has the power to bring up events in the world and shape her audience’s mind to think like her and can also do this with those around her. You have explained what an opinion leader is in a very clear way so those who don’t know the concept of this phrase within the theory can understand what point you’re putting across with this case study.
However, to understand the theory to the fullest extent you could include the background of the theory and the other aspects of the theory. Another part you could’ve included was this idea of opinion followers which you imply, but you don’t mention the vocabulary for this like you did for the opinion leader. This would allow those who don’t know the theory outside the course to know all of the roles within the two-step flow theory. This idea of how the two roles work together is slightly grazed over where you have mentioned the outcome of Kim Kardashian bringing this case to light, but to get a little more depth from this you could have found evidence of this and argued if the celebrity had selective exposure or if she gave the whole narrative to her audience.
Overall, you have explained part of this theory well and have used a great example. This blog about the theory is very easy to understand, but just requires a little more explanation in order to understand the full picture.