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Paper abstract:

Social media in Central Asia seems to have become the most important platform for information. Today, journalists and bloggers, civil society representatives, and political activists actively use various social media channels. And these activists become opinion leaders, thanks to active actions in different areas of society and promoting themselves in social networks. Social networks have become a relatively independent, and sometimes the only reliable source of information in the course of political events. This research focused on the role of social media influencers during important political events such as elections. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role and influence of opinion leaders on society through social networks during the elections. Since 2013, the editorial office of Vlast in Kazakhstan has been presenting the rating of opinion leaders on the Kazakhstan Internet, its subsequent updates are carried out monthly. For measurement, about 30 candidates from various fields are preliminarily selected, after which their activity in social networks for a certain period is analyzed. The first rating is based on the measurement from December 20, 2013, to March 26, 2014. The core of this research project is an elaborate content analysis of the rating of social media influencers, and also determines the impact of social media leaders on society. Based on the results of the study, it is possible to determine what unites all social media leaders and whether they can be called trendsetters and innovators in their fields.