More than half a million pounds has been spent by the UK government since 2024 on hiring social media influencers to promote campaigns on topics from the environment to welfare, according to figures obtained through a freedom of information request. The spending covered 215 influencers, with 126 hired in 2025 alone, up from 89 the previous year, as ministers seek to reach younger audiences on platforms like TikTok.
The Department for Education was the biggest spender, using £350,000 since 2024 on 53 influencers this year compared to 26 in 2024. Other heavy users included the Home Office, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Defence, and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), which spent £120,023 in 2025 on eight influencers after none the year before, targeting vulnerable households with information on policies and services.
The government has faced criticism over the shift, which coincides with sweeping changes to Downing Street’s press lobby system. From the new year, the number of daily lobby briefings will halve, with the afternoon briefing cut entirely and some morning sessions replaced by press conferences open to specialist journalists and social media creators. Lobby journalists said the move restricted access to scrutiny.
The DWP’s campaigns aimed to inform the public about help available to vulnerable households. The Department for Business and Trade spent £39,700 in 2025 on 17 influencers over two years, including Bella Roberts, Krish Kara, Noah Brierley, Rotimi Merriman-Johnson, Beth Fuller, and Jasmine Shum. The Ministry of Justice used 12 influencers to promote recruitment for prison officers, probation officers, and magistrates.
The figures were released after a Freedom of Information request by PR agency Tangerine, whose associate director Sam Fisk said: “The public are craving authentic voices and increasingly turning off from watching ministers trumpet out pre-rehearsed political soundbites… The government shouldn’t be sneered at for their use of influencers. This is a smart shift given the fall in TV viewership, however, the challenge is now delivering genuinely high-quality content.” Most departments refused to disclose spending, citing commercial reasons.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has embraced the trend, launching a TikTok account last week and joining Substack, where he wrote: “People have a right to know how decisions that affect them are taken and why. And I believe all politicians should explore innovative new ways to do that.” Downing Street sees influencers as a way to reach audiences disengaged from traditional media, though critics argue it avoids serious policy scrutiny.
