The supposed importance of influentials derives from a plausible sounding but largely untested theory called the " two step flow of communication" : Information flows from the media to the influentials and from them to everyone else.

人们之所以认为影响者很重要，是源于" 两级传播" 理论。即信息先从媒体流向影响者，然后再从影响者流向其他人。这一理论看似合理，但未经验证。