Summary:
-
Camille Zapata, Latina strategist behind Gavin Newsom’s viral posts, employs satire and legal review for online engagement.
-
Zapata’s academic background in cultural anthropology informs her strategy of combining humor and sensitivity online.
-
Leading Newsom’s press office and digital team, Zapata has tripled his TikTok following while reshaping political engagement.
Gavin Newsom’s all-caps, Trump-style social media posts have gone viral, but the person behind them isn’t the governor himself. Reports identify 29-year-old Camille Zapata, a Latina strategist leading Newsom’s press office and digital team. Raised in Stockton and starting her career with then-Mayor Michael Tubbs, Zapata has quickly become a key digital voice in California politics.
With a degree in cultural anthropology from UC Santa Cruz and graduate studies at USC Annenberg, Zapata combines academic insight with a sharp understanding of online culture. Her strategy uses satire, precise cadence, and all caps to respond to Trump’s over-the-top posts, helping Newsom’s TikTok following reportedly triple in a year. Beyond viral posts, Zapata’s small team balances humor with sensitivity, reviews every post legally, and she also serves as president of the California Women’s List, reshaping political engagement online.
