Hannah Ferguson, the co-founder and chief executive of Cheek Media, has outlined her political ambitions for the next federal election, as she shares plans to make a Senate bid.
Addressing the National Press Club on Wednesday, the political content creator (she doesn’t describe herself as a journalist) announced she intends to run as an independent candidate, although she acknowledged this will likely be an uphill battle.
“Running for the Senate as an [independent] is virtually impossible. In New South Wales, you would need 400,000 to 500,000 votes to get the required number. That’s a tough ask,” she said.
“But running a campaign and losing, I think, is also a powerful thing to do to show other young women that they can do the same thing and that it’s not embarrassing, it’s actually a triumph that you attempted to challenge a system and establishment.”
Ferguson, who started the Cheek Media account on Instagram back in 2020, has built a significant platform for political commentary and discourse, with more than 186,000 followers at the time of writing.
Earlier this year, she was also among 13 creators invited to preview budget papers in March alongside traditional media outlets, telling SBS that new media has “really powerful engagement with their audience who may not know that much about politics”.
In response to criticisms of Labor engaging with content creators, Ferguson further wrote in an Instagram post after the budget announcement: “I paid my own way and took an incredible opportunity to solidify the power of new media in connecting people with politics. Legacy media is proving its irrelevance with every new article they publish.”
In her National Press Address in Canberra, she revealed what sparked her fascination in politics, admitting she “decided naively that [she] wanted to be the Prime Minister of this country” at the age of 10.
“I chose this career on my first trip to Canberra on a school excursion in grade four,” she said. “Shockingly, in the House of Representatives, seeing politicians hurl insults at each other is not what made me want to get the top job.
“During the tour, the system of preferential voting was explained to me.
“The concept that every person had a vote and an equal voice within that vote was impactful.”
With Cheek Media, she said she hoped to offer something different to a young Australian audience.
“I am not a journalist, and I have never claimed to be. I never will,” Ferguson said.
“Research tells us that more than half of Australians get their news on social media, but I don’t ever want to be seen as a source of breaking headlines. My intention is to provide opinions, distribute ideas and ask people to look at their own moral compass in relation to mine.
“I don’t seek agreement. I want to develop media literacy and encourage people to expand their news diet.”
Ferguson also took aim at the way influencers like herself were treated during the election campaign, explaining in her address that ‘influencer’ was seen as “the dirtiest word” in this campaign.
“While that word simply means to have influence over a group, we know that the Murdoch media has reserved this group for young women,” Ferguson said.
“The agenda is clear: to undermine our intelligence, to paint us as untrustworthy, and to conflate us with green juice and a discount code.
“There is nothing wrong with being an influencer, but the label is intended to cause significant reputational damage. The impact is deeply misogynistic.”
She pointed out the tag is rarely associated with podcast commentators like the Betoota Advocate or businessman Mark Bouris.
“Dim lighting and the branding of honest blokey conversation is enough for men to be left alone by the public and the media. But for women, it’s superficial, dangerous, unprofessional, and a failure. You’re ‘just an influencer’,” she observed.
Reflecting on her work thus far, she described the “personally small” role in mobilising action across generations as “the greatest honour of my life”.
“While 10-year-old me wanted to be the Prime Minister, the 26-year-old that stands here today recognises that forging an entirely different path, and cultivating the passion of Australian women to be activated, informed and confident, will reshape the future of the political arena in this country, and this is just the beginning,” she stated.
Lead image: AAP
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