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Breanna Floyd
Professor Malcolm Campbell
English 1103
November 9, 2015
Social Media and the Influence is has on Political Elections
Social media has not always been the go to for campaigning. Previous generations had to
use the TV, radio and politicians had to speak to people in person to get their ideas to the public.
Now it is at the tip of every politicians finger. Literally, all they have to do is type on Twitter or
Facebook and their campaign is out there for the public to see. Candidates have a team now for
social media. They can take care of everything for the candidate.
A candidates team his people to make Google Bombs which take a series of words and
make the search come up with a candidate running against theirs. For example, if the Google
Bomb miserable failure is searched, George W. Bush we pages come up. (1) I never knew there
was such a thing so this completely shocked me. Google has recently made it nearly impossible
for Google bombs to be made for politicians. It is hoped that Google has permanently put a
stop to them. Candidates teams didnt just quit when they couldnt make Google Bombs, now
they found a way to make Twitter Bombs. It is the same thing as Google but it happens in
Twitter. Political scammers make fake Twitter accounts and send as many tweets as possible
before Twitter blocks them. These hackers have found a way to track Twitter users who recently
tweeted about politics or elections and the hackers target them to try to persuade them. (1) Since
two out of three people in the United States are on social media that means these hackers can get
to a large number of people and fast. Its almost a dirty way to get votes because everyone

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slanders the other persons name for everyone to see. Before social media if someone said
something to slander anothers name, it was known who said it. Now people can post
anonymously or even under a fake account.
Even though two out of three people are on social media that doesnt mean everyone
votes. An article in The Washington Post showed that a study found that 41% of young adults
have shared some type of political election video or made an online group. Those 41% of young
adults are more likely to vote in elections. In 2014, 21.5% of young adults voted in the election.
(2) Considering how many people are on social media, that number is low. Of the ones who vote,
I am sure that some vote of off the number of followers a candidate has. People might think just
because one has more likes or followers they are the better choice. That is not the case at all.
A candidates social media team can easily alter their numbers and make it seem as though they
are the better choice. With so many people on social media, if those people would take the time
to actually read about the candidates and their platforms voting would be based on ideas, not
Facebook followers.
Also the article said, Young people who are on track to economic success are much
more likely to participate politically than those who are struggling. (2) It is disappointing that
this quote is even true. Everyone should participate politically whether one is successful or
struggling because everyone here has the right to vote. Everyone should because that is their
voice being heard. Too many people do not participate and keep involved with elections. If that
quote is true then those who are struggling should vote because they can get help from the
government. With the right person in office, help could be offered to change situations.
Even though social media is taking off with political elections, that does not mean
politicians should abandon the old ways. Social media sites will forever change the political

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landscape, but they will not spell the end of politics as we know it. (3) A candidate should not
completely forget about the other ways to campaign, but he should combine social media with it.
The campaigns that best integrate their communications strategies as whole, including TV, radio,
direct mail, print, Internet, e-mail, and social networks, will be the campaigns that reap the
biggest rewards from tools like Facebook and Twitter. (3) Combining all of them will ensure that
their campaign is reached by almost everyone. The older generation is more than likely not on
Facebook or Twitter so if a candidate puts everything on social media, they will not see it. Also
not everyone has a computer so those people wouldnt see anything either. Then there is the
opposite. Someone who surrounds their lives with social media might not watch TV or listen to
the radio. If a candidate doesnt put anything online then that person might not read it. A balance
of all methods of campaigning would be the best option.
It is said that Obama won the social media battle in the 2012 presidential election. Just as
President John F Kennedy won the election by using the TV, Obama did the same but with social
media. To promote Barack Obama on Facebook, his campaign spent over $643,000 out of the
$16 million Internet budget. (4) That is a lot of money spent on social media. The money was
used for online ads, Facebook followers and for Twitter. Current measures of American adults
who use social networks are at 69%; thats up significantly from the 37% of those who had social
network profiles in 2008. The amount of adults using social media rose 32% in four years.
Right when social media was taking off, was when President Barack Obama was campaigning
for the election. His team that was helping him with the social media side understood it was not
about technology but the psychology of social behaviors. If one someone is friends with another
person who followed President Barack Obamas Facebook page, their friends will see and follow
also.

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In the 2012 election, 30% of online users report that they were urged to vote via social
media by family, friends or other social network connections, 20% actively encouraged others
and 22% posted their decision when they voted. (5) These percentages show just how much
social media can influence others and political campaigns. Over 39% of social media users have
seen friends or family discussing elections. (6) The more someone is exposed to something, it
will make the person raise questions and research it. If someone has seen friends and family
members post about elections then they are more likely to research them. They will learn more
and be educated on the candidates and not just vote off of followers. People put everything on
social media now days which encourages others to do it also. If one person sees another voting
they are more likely to go vote, especially if that person is close to them. Some people use their
Facebook or other social media sites as a blog or rant for politics. They share articles and express
their feelings about it. Then others share what they had to say and it spreads all over the internet.
It is a quick way to get what you have to say about something out there. My father is one of those
people who post about politics which in makes me read more about the articles. I am a curios
person, which just about everyone is, so it makes me want to know more so I am not blind to the
situations happening around me. I know of many people who learn so much from my fathers
posts on Facebook. That is one example of how social media influences political campaigns.
A few questions I had while researching this topic were, does social media promoting a
candidate make people vote for the one with the most likes or the one with actual good ideas?
What will be the next big thing for candidates to use to get to the people? How does social media
make bad candidates look good? To answer the first one Facebook shows that Obama had nearly
triple the amount of friends on Facebook than Romney did. Did people vote for the one with the

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most friends? It is unsure of how many actually did that but some did. The next big thing could
be anything. Social media is the new thing to use so almost all candidates are using it.

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(1) Metaxas l, Panagiotis. Social Media and the Elections. Science and Society 6106
(2012): 472-73. AAAS. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.
(2) Levine, Peter. Social Media Hasnt Boosted Young Voter Turnout. The Washington
Post TheWashingtonPost.com. 1 Dec. 2014. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.
(3) Garecht, Joe. "Using Social Media in Your Campaign." Using Social Media in Your
Campaign. Web. 6 Nov. 2015.
(4) Abid, Abdul. "The Political Power of Social Media." Dawn. 26 Sept. 2012. Web. 3 Nov.
2015.
(5) Rutldge, Pamela. "How Obama Won the Social Media Battle in the 2012 Presidential
Campaign." The Media Psychology Blog. 15 Jan. 2013. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.
(6) Rainie, Lee. "Social Media and the 2012 U.S. Presidential Elections." U.S. Department of
State. 20 June 2012. Web. 26 Oct. 2015.