COREY GAYHEART

TOPIC:
I am studying the effect of social media on politics, and specifically the use of social media in
political campaigns in the United States. My focus will be on U.S. politics.
RESEARCH QUESTIONS:
1. How is social media being used as a marketing tool?
2. How is social media being used to make certain issues more prevalent than others? (i.e.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Make this your profile pic to support Planned Parenthood, etc.)

Despite its prevalence, is social media truly a reliable source?
How do campaigns use social media to their advantage? (i.e. donations, websites, etc.)
When did the social media in politics fad begin?
How are news outlets using social media to spread factual information?
What is the overall rhetoric of social media?

AUDIENCE & SIGNIFICANCE:

In order to help U.S. citizens and especially those in my local community understand that social
media can be unreliable sometimes and they can be manipulated easily on social media. The
citizens are stakeholders in this context. This is especially important at the local level because
many people get their information/news from social media rather than the typical news source
such as CNN or NY Times.
CONTEXT:
This issue is important and timely because many communities across this country are recovering
and rebuilding from the Great Recession. Politics and who gets elected play an important role
in how a community wants to rebuild/rebrand. My local community, for example, is going
through a renaissance now that our local schools and government have recovered from
financial hardships. Who gets elected plays a pivotal role in how our recovery plays out. Social

media is being used increasingly as a news source and communication tool by candidates and
governments.
EXHIBIT:
To illustrate my discussion of social media in politics, I plan to focus on the use of Social media
in U.S. politics today, specifically the presidential election. Many candidates are finding new and
innovative ways to communicate with their constituents through social media. Many news
articles and publications have discussed this growing trend.
KEY SOURCES FOUND SO FAR:
MLA CITATION
American Ethnologist,
2015, Vol.42(1), pp.4-17
[Peer Reviewed Journal]
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

TYPE OF SOURCE

SOURCE OFFERING

Article/Journal

Modern day example of

social media with political
issues.

Schreiber, Rachel, ed.

Modern Print Activism in the
United States. Farnham,
GBR: Ashgate Publishing
Group, 2013. ProQuest
ebrary. Web. 10 November
2015.

Book

Transition from print to

online media

Carr, Nicholas. "How

Social Media Is Ruining
Politics." POLITICO
Magazine. 2 Sept. 2015.
Web. 10 Nov. 2015.
CQ Researcher, 2012,
Vol.22(36), pp.865-888
Washington, D.C., United
States: CQ Press CQ
Researcher Online (CQ
Press, an imprint of SAGE)
Wihbey, John. "How Does
Social Media Use
Influence Political
Participation and Civic
Engagement? A Metaanalysis - Journalist's
Resource." Journalists
Resource. 18 Oct. 2015.
Web. 6 Nov. 2015.

Article/Magazine

Modern day article on

social medias role in
politics

Article

View on social media and

its affects.

Article

Journalists perspective
on social media in
politics.

Corey Gayheart

Dr. Erin McLaughlin

Multimedia Writing & Rhetoric
10 November 2015
Exploratory Draft
1.) I hope to expose the role of social media in U.S. Politics and the role it is playing in terms of
communication amongst constituents, supporters, lobbyists, and politicians. I also want to
explore how social media is changing public policy in terms of what things are being
focused on. I find this topic interesting because have an extreme interest in politics and
current events, especially the upcoming Presidential election; it is also an important election
in my hometown as the Schools are putting a levy on the ballot to build new educational
facilities, the city has a Police & Fire levy renewal on the ballot, and the local cement plants
future is at stake with a vote on whether to allow them to mind farmland or not. All of these
events are sparking my interest in politics. I am very involved in politics at the local level,
as I support candidates, speak at public forums, and volunteer. I also hold elected office on
the class council at Notre Dame. These experiences will assist me in describing a
politicians view on social media and the role it plays. I hope to bring an unbiased view
into my research as I try to expose the issues of social media paying a major role in politics
and public policy.
2.) The intended audience is all U.S. citizens, but specifically the citizens at the local level
because the citizens at the local level tend to get more news and information from social
media than they do from trusted news sources. People in my hometown are extremely active
on social media, yet only 3,000 people out of a population of 32,000 people voted in the
most recent election. Social media activism is very prevalent. Politicians probably will not
like my research and findings as it will be harder for them to manipulate public perception

through social media. Citizens are in a position to truly be positively effected through this
research because they will be more knowledgeable about social medias role in politics and
be less prone to be taken advantage of.
3.) I believe that my essay will come together nicely because I have found multiple articles and
web pages examining the current state of social media in politics and its ever-expanding
role.
Tentative outline:
*Growth of Social Media, *General Role in Politics, *Politicians Today,
*Upcoming Elections, *How do citizens use Social media, *How do politicians use social
media, *Social media movements, *Issues brought to light because of social media,
*Examples of issues over social media. (Organization of my research paper is still up in the
air as I find more research and sources to use and discuss.
4.) I have found plenty of articles and news outlets that provide a good source of information
for the transformative role social media is taking on in politics. I need to find more scholarly
sources for my research, however. My audience will probably expect scholarly research,
opinion articles, and modern news examples as well as statistics.
5.) I have no concerns at this time. I need to look into more resources/sources, especially
scholarly statistics. I dont foresee myself running into any problems throughout the course
of this project.