A cat influencer is responsible for getting his owner to safety from the war in Ukraine, and his fans had a lot to do with it.
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Stepan the cat is an animal influencer with over a million followers on Instagram. Jamie Cohen, Assistant Professor of media studies at CUNY Queens College in New York told KCBS Radio that the cats popularity got fans involved to ensure his and his owners' safety out of Ukraine.
"Fans themselves took advantage of the fact that they want to keep the cat safe and got involved in many ways of giving intel and information and supporting them through donations and everything," Cohen said. "The influencer literally influenced the fans to help."
According to the Washington Post, Stepan and his owner are now safe in France.
Cohen explained that a social media influencer and fan connection is a relationship that supports each other, "you want to see their safety as much as they want you to be their fan."
"So, if they are in a situation where they get in danger you are sort of responsible for making sure you keep their fandom going," he said.
People need to be aware of how much influence they have on their fans. He added that influencers have a responsibility to help others and content consumers have the responsibility to listen.
"If they have a social good idea of what they want us to support we should continue to support them, if it’s in the best interest of themselves and the people around them," he said.
Cohen believes that influencers are going to be a part of the communication spectrum for the rest of our lives.
"Biden administration just had a meeting with 30 Tik Tokers last week, and it's very possible that type of information sharing will be part of how we are going to be using top-down information in general," he explained.
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