Donald Trump, the former president of the United States, is known for using social media as a way to share his views with the public. Barack Obama, however, was the first candidate for president to use social media. It became clear that this could be a powerful tool in a presidential campaign. This fact was confirmed in 2016, when Trump’s team began to use carefully crafted messages on various platforms.

It is unclear if social media will still have an impact on the 2020 election. Twitter is a platform that has been used by both sides of the political spectrum for decades. Does it still hold any influence?

Aubrey Jewett, Associate Professor and Assistant School Director within the School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs of Central Florida University, stated that “Social Media will play an essential role in 2024’s presidential election.”

Jewett pointed out that for many Americans social media is an important news source. He cited the Pew Research report that showed that over 70% of Americans get their news via social media.

Jewett added, “Candidates and campaigns will use social media advertising to target their messages precisely to those who are most responsive.” Disinformation campaigns are spreading through social media, despite attempts to stop. They may have an important impact. People often use social media to talk about politics and policies.

Social media can be a powerful tool to motivate voters, to ensure they cast their ballots, and both campaigns are likely going spend a large amount of money in these outreach efforts.

What about the spread of misinformation?

A danger is that the social media platforms could be used to “fool everyone, always,” at least through the spreading of misinformation.

Craig Barkacs, professor of business law and ethics in the MBA programs at the Knauss School of Business at the University of San Diego, warned that social media has become a prime pollutant in today’s political landscape, which is so littered with lies, deception, conspiracy theories, misinformation, and, even worse, disinformation – even as nearly three-quarters of Americans turn to it for a source of news.

Barkacs explained that headline-itis is a mental disorder whereby Americans are prone to glancing quickly at the shiny objects and moving onto the next one. The average article is read for 15 seconds and a video maybe 10 or less seconds, according to research. Pew Research Center also found in a study that people who rely on …read more

Source:: Social Media Explorer

Author: Aaron