Tech Giants and Digital Domination by Bissinger Caleb;

Author:Bissinger, Caleb;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Greenhaven Publishing LLC

VIEWPOINT 3

Twitter’s Impact on the 2016 Presidential Election Is Unmistakable

Shontavia Johnson

In the following viewpoint, Shontavia Johnson argues that, based on the 2016 US presidential election, Twitter will transform the way presidential campaigns are managed in the future. Disruptive technologies, such as radio and television, have altered elections throughout US history. Today, data shows that social media can have a profound effect on voters’ opinions of candidates. Trump’s management of his own Twitter account allowed him to connect with voters in a way that his opponent, Hillary Clinton, whose account was managed by staff, did not. Further, his incendiary tweets often were so outrageous that they were covered by mass media outlets, gaining him free publicity. What seemed shocking and “unpresidential” may be the new normal. Johnson is professor of intellectual property law at Drake University.

“Donald Trump Tweeted Himself into the White House,” by Shontavia Johnson, The Conversation, November 10, 2016. https://theconversation.com/donald-trump-tweeted-himself-into-the-white-house-68561. Licensed under CC BY-ND 4.0 International.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. How many active Twitter users were there in the three quarters of 2016, leading up to the presidential election?

2. What emotion did Trump play to when trying to spread his message?

3. What technology did John F. Kennedy credit for helping him win the election?

Donald Trump’s presidential election victory has been described as stunning, shocking and having elicited a “primal scream” from the media. The president-elect resonated enough with more than 59 million Americans that they pulled the lever for him in the voting booth and propelled him to a win.

Trump connected with his supporters both in person and on social media, particularly via Twitter. He was back tweeting mere hours after delivering his victory speech.

Such a beautiful and important evening! The forgotten man and woman will never be forgotten again. We will all come together as never before

Trump’s affinity for Twitter is well-documented. One political operative characterized the candidate’s presence on the social networking site as “a continuous Trump rally that happens on Twitter at all hours.” His perceived dexterity led some to declare him the best on social media and winner of the social media war.

But how much influence did Twitter have during the 2016 presidential election? As a law professor who researches the internet’s impact on the tangible world, I believe the answer to this question could, in some ways, transform the way political candidates manage their campaigns for years to come.

Politics in the Palm of Your Hand

With more than 300 million active users in the first three-quarters of 2016, Twitter allows people to interact with droves of friends and followers in 140 characters or less. While Americans tend to avoid discussions about politics offline, social media environments like Twitter make it nearly impossible to avoid political interactions on the internet. Though research shows that few Clinton or Trump supporters have close friends in the opposing camp, social media extends these connections significantly. With Twitter in particular, users are statistically more likely to follow people they do not know personally than with Facebook, where users often connect to those with whom they have some personal connection.

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