The impact of negativity

 As we learn about how social media impacts candidates, a lot of people assume that negative media is something that always hurts candidates. In reality, there are many scenarios where this is not the case and it can have no impact at all. In particular, the 2016 presidential election comes to mind. Weeks before the election a tape was released where Donald Trump spoke (NSFW) about the perks of being a star and how he can do whatever he wants to women. The comments made sparked an outrage by many and a lot of people though that it may cost him the election. Another example that comes to mind is former President George W. Bush. President bush was arrested for a DUI. He was asked about it days before the election and had to confirm the accuracy of the story. Both of these candidates went on to win their respective open seat elections and become president. Time and time again it is seen that the baggage of politicians often doesn't matter as much as many people think that it does. It may influence some voters but ultimately it motivates the party from which they claim to get out even more. They feel as if their candidates are being attacked and they need to make sure that they get out and vote. It will be interesting to see the decades to come. Smartphones have changed the political game. They cannot hide their misdeeds like they once could and it will be interesting to see how that impacts candidates. 

The Cost of Social Media

 For campaigns, the cost of using social media is very expensive. Stacey Abrams campaign has been spending a million dollars a week since July of TV advertising and social media use. Michael Bloomberg spent more than one billion dollars on his presidential campaign with over 70% of that used towards advertising. That is over 700 millions dollars. Buying TV time and promoting candidates through social media can cost an arm and a leg. My question is, should the FEC regulate how much can be spent? Or is that the new norm that we should accept? As this article highlights, it is extremely expensive to run for public office. The amount of money that it takes is limiting to the everyday citizen considering public office. Most of us would have a difficult time garnering the support to start a movement and that comes down to lack of funds. Unless you parents are worth millions or you are connected with some wealthy people, your chances of running for federal office and winning are low. I think this points to why some candidates are willing to do and say whatever it takes to raise money. Marjorie Greene is a prime example. She raises a lot of money around the country by saying what certain groups of voters want to hear. She has a archest that makes her nearly untouchable in her district. Campaigns were already very expensive. As we see campaigns shifting more and more the use of social media, the costs do not diminish but rather increase. This makes it difficult for people to pull the trigger on running for office. 

Misinformation Campaigns

 Like anything, social media can be used in a negative way for political campaigns. After all, campaigns are all about mobilizing groups to vote for you. Could our candidates use media to mobilize voter based on false information? Absolutely. What comes to mind for me is Donald Trump use of his twitter and his allies use of information. The Q movement gained some traction and every one of them were Trump voters. Trump never discouraged this misinformation nor disputed their "reality". He let the misinformation spread to the point that it became a problem. The amount of misinformation spilled over to the 2020 election. Those followers believed everything that President Trump said. We should always be willing to call a spade a spade, especially when it comes to what our politicians are spewing out. Trump told his base and the country for months that the 2020 election was set to be ripe with fraud and that he was going to win by a landslide. This narrative was engrained in the minds of his radical followers. When the election did not go as he wanted, he knew that he would be able to dispute it and have some support from his extreme followers. Misinformation was the reason that Trump thought he could subvert democracy. I hope that is was a wakeup call to all Americans that we need to be careful what we read and believe. 

What makes Media so useful for campaigns?

 Social media has seen a rapid growth in usage over the past several election cycles. It is still kind of "new" but has been shown to be incredibly effective. Social media is a useful tool for businesses and campaigns alike. How is this and why is using social media so important in the modern campaign? There are four key reasons that this is so important. First, it increases name recognition. This is especially important for primary elections. When there are several candidates for a seat in a primary election, voters typically subconsciously pick the one that they are most familiar with. A prime example of this is Herschel Walker's primary win. He breezed through the primary and didn't;t even do debates. His name recognition and Georgia football legend status carried him a long way. The reason you see so many political yard signs is because the name recognition game is important to win. Media also improves your chances to convert voters. Repetitive television advertisements can give the voters more of reason to vote for the candidate. It engrains the message in the minds of voters and gives them a candidate to consider. Another benefit is the cost effectiveness of mobilizing voters. Running a political campaign is extremely expensive. Social media allows campaigns to spend their funds in a cost effective manners by targeting voters. Cultural issues and norms have become a prevalent way for candidates to do this. Lastly, social media can be used as an informative tool for campaigns. Informing the voters of issues and how a candidate will remedy said issues is an important aspect of running for office. Social media allows candidate to do this and for the message to reach a lot more people. Political campaigns are all about reaching voters and getting them to turn out. Media plays a huge role in this. 

Targeted Advertising

 As we are seeing now, campaigns are spending a lot of money on TV Advertising. We are especially seeing advertisements for the senate and governors races. At times, you will see advertisements all the way down at the local level. You may not think about it, but chances are that you are getting more advertisements from one side than the other. This is because of targeted advertising. You know how your phone always asks if it's okay tp use cookies or it's okay that an app or website tracks you? That information is sold and used to better advertise for you. Have you ever been talking about shoes, golf clubs, or some earrings and next thing you know you have all sorts of advertisements on your phone or computer? This strategy also applies to politics and they love it. Having so much data on us helps campaigns know our tendencies and be able to target us. Our own hobbies are being used to identify us to try and earn our vote. Social media continues to be a useful resource for political campaigns.