On 23 May 2018, the singer Rihanna posted a message on Instagram: ‘Yes, she deserves it’, the Barbadian superstar wrote next to a photo of Mia Mottley, the leader of the Barbados Labour Party The following day, the voters heeded the advice of the pop princess. In a sensational win, the centre right lost its representation in the Lower House. Mia Mottley won all 30 seats in the House of Assembly. Was it Rihanna? Do voters listen to celebrities? As a general rule they do not.
Election researchers have often suggested that voters ‘take cues’. In the early 1990s, Samuel L. Popkin wrote a book that showed that voters are able to make rational decisions based on ‘information short cuts’. Voters lack the time to study all the political programmes, let alone understand the complex and technical issues. Therefore, they look for people they trust, and base their decisions on their recommendations. Voters generally trust individuals who have credibility:
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