ESCONDIDO, Calif. — An Escondido teen is using her new, and massive, social media platform to help fight COVID-19 vaccine mis- and disinformation.
At 17 years old, Ellie Zeiler is huge on social media, with a combined 12 million followers on Instagram and TikTok, most of which she has racked up since the start of the pandemic, last March.
"I don't expect it," Zeiler said of her fame and following. "It sounds so weird to say out loud!"
Her first video, of her eating cereal in her brother's bedroom, garnered nearly 50,000 views just days after posting. Zeiler said that moment led her to two possible decisions: let the moment pass and allow it to be a funny story to tell, or produce more content to capitalize.
"I enjoyed it so much, which is why I continued it and still do continue it because I enjoy it," she explained. "But I never thought, in any aspect, that it would get to this point, which I’m so grateful for."
Ellie is one of about 50 social media stars the White House recruited this summer to help fight false information on social media. It's a targeted effort to reach people, from Gen Z, to older Millennials, to Boomers on the platforms where they now get most of their info. Some cities and counties are running similar programs, paying local influencers up to $1,000 to spread the word.
At first, Zeiler thought it was all a joke, in disbelief the White House would reach out. Once the shock wore off, she seized the opportunity, seeing it as a chance to ask questions she, her friends, and her followers, wanted answers to; and getting the answers from sources like Dr. Fauci himself.
"Ellie took the time to ask her friends and family rumors they had heard and things that were holding them back from getting the vaccine, or even if they had been vaccinated, what they were afraid of," Sarah Zeiler, Ellie's mom, said. "It wasn't just, 'hey guys, go get the vaccine.'"
Her followers know Zeiler for her fashion, make-up, and lifestyle videos, which she says all show off her true personality.
"I really, really wanted and was adamant about people following me for me," she said. "So showing my personality and giving something that people could bond with me over was very important to me as well."
That led to Ellie vlogging her own vaccination experience in Del Mar, which she said is likely what got the attention of the Biden administration.
With attention on social media, unwarranted and negative comments are sure to abound, especially on controversial topics like the pandemic and the vaccine. Zeiler and her mom say they focus on the positive and the good of the work they do.
"Remembering that if all of this went away tomorrow and you didn’t have any followers on social media, your life would still be the same," Zeiler's mom explained of their mantra to staying positive. "But most importantly, you would still be the same and you would believe in what you believe in. You’d still stand tall and proud of who you are."
It's that vulnerability and effort to staying positive and real that attracts Ellie's millions of followers, setting the stage for her influence to help spread information from the source, about the pandemic and the vaccine.
"I see it as this opportunity like, 'wow, this was given to me at the beginning of this and now I really get to help people at the end of it,'" Zeiler said.
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