How Social Media Influences Politics

The role of social media platforms in politics has been highly debated, and it is considered that social media can impact politics and political institutions. The true influence of social media on politics is debatable because some political campaigns established on social media failed while others succeeded. Nonetheless, the role of social media in the election process cannot be overlooked, as the decision to vote for a particular candidate can be swayed by aggressive campaigns and commercials. Experts believe that social media played a significant role in the 2016 US Presidential election. During his campaigns, President Donald Trump engaged his supporters through the social media platform Twitter (Gerbaudo). Social media platforms have many active users and it is easy to use them to gain political advantage over the opponent.

Firstly, social media gives a political aspirant the advantage of establishing a direct connection with the voters. Social media platforms such a Facebook have an option where an individual can create a group or a page for a specific purpose. Politicians create accounts in the social media platforms and then invite other users to become their friends. Other platforms such as Twitter requires a user account and then the person can send their message to the online community. It is an advantage to the politician to have social media accounts where they can send a political message to the voters. President Donald Trump was known to send Tweets during his political campaigns while responding to pertinent issues raised by the media or the general public (Caro). Through the use of social media platforms, the politicians are able to send convincing messages to sway Voters to support them.

Most of the advertisements made via the social media platforms use the privileges of being a member. A user who has registered as a member in a social media platform is able to send and receive messages and advertisements free of charge. Politicians and political aspirants use the advantage of being a member to drive their political campaigns and persuade voters to vote for them (Gerbaudo). Also, a political aspirant may use a social media platform to defame their rival by posting unpleasant messages, images, or graphics that depict the opponent as a bad person.

Besides, social media is used to make campaigns go viral. The campaigns may be on any subject other than politics but they usually have a political motive driving them. Andrew Marshall (2012) outlines the various campaigns that were launched on social media platforms. Some of the campaigns succeeded but others failed but all of them had political agendas in them. In 1988 MoveOn presented a political campaign that required immediate impeachment of Bill Clinton, the then the President of the United States. The campaign managed to persuade half a million people to support the motion and have President Bill Clinton Impeached. The MoveOn campaign failed to succeed and subsequent attempt to oust the Bill Clinton from presidency failed too. In 2003, MoveOn again embarked on a campaign to mobilize people reject the idea of the United States invading Iraq. However, the political campaign did not succeed. In 2007, Avaaz spearheaded a campaign that disagreed with the anti-regime protests and the crackdown that ensued in Burma. The campaign was a success and approximately a million members presented their signatures through electronic means. Money raised in the campaign was used to sponsor the opposition to stand against the bad governance at the time. Further, Avaaz, 38Degrees, and Get!Up! started a campaign that advocated for a reduction in the carbon emission to the atmosphere. The campaign was not successful. Another success was the online campaign that was sponsored by Avaaz in 2010. The campaign was about anti-gay legislation Uganda. The campaign was a success and the bill against the homosexuals was dropped by the government (213).

The rise in the use of current technology has enabled the use of social media platforms possible. Social media platforms are used to raise funds for certain purposes. The leaders of the campaign present the reasons for fundraising and explain it to the online community. For instance, the anti-regime protest campaign in Burma was used to raise $325,000 within a period of four days (Caro). The funds collected were used in technology that helped members of the opposition prevent oppression of the media. Further, social media platforms are used to tailor messages to the online community. Profiling of the members is done to establish what type of content is presented in the advertisements. The other big way in which social media is used is to spread controversy. A political system, political aspirant, or the government are able to spread controversial issues to the general public. For example, it was believed that the 2016 presidential elections in the United States were influenced by Russian hackers and that President Donald Trump was assisted in winning the votes. All the blame was placed on the Russian government for sponsoring the cyber-attack that changed the fate of the presidential elections. According to Baraniuk Chris (2016), evolving technologies such as social media are able to influence the user’s behavior, perspective, and beliefs on a large scale. The influence is difficult to be felt by the members of the online community but the results of the process show the level of impact (Baraniuk 1). Further, Baraniuk states that it is possible for governments to use social media in misrepresenting the truth about an issue. Different governments have invested heavily in programmes that monitor social media platforms and the major goal is to spread information to manipulate members of the public. The major problem with governments is its need to manipulate its subjects to comply with the current demands. Besides, social media can be used to obtain feedback from the public or weigh a public opinion concerning a certain aspect. Politicians also engage the social media platforms so as to assess the opinion of the public concerning them. They may post a controversial message on Twitter, Facebook or any other social media platform so as to obtain the reaction from members of the public. Also, social media is used as a power by many people. For instance, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) movement was able to prevent bad policies against its members in Uganda (Bennett). Social media is used to obtain support from members of the public to fight for the rights of a group that is oppressed or marginalized. The terrorists are also involved in recruiting members into their movement through posts and messages exchanged via the social media. Baraniuk (2016) states that many people have been influenced to become jihadists through videos and messages send via social media platforms.

Works Cited

Baraniuk, Chris. “World wide warp.” New Scientist 229.3061 (2016): 38-41.

Bennett, W. Lance. “The personalization of politics political identity, social media, and changing patterns of participation.” The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 644.1 (2012): 20-39.

Caro, Susanne. “Social Media and Politics: A New Way To Participate in the Political Process.” (2017): 138-138.

Gerbaudo, Paolo. Tweets and the streets: Social media and contemporary activism. Pluto Press, 2012.

Marshall, Andrew. “Power of the iMob.” The World Today 68.3 (2012): 8-14.