Political Campaigns

Political campaigns are often regarded as a forum for public debate about issues and policies, though are frequently criticized as being merely marketing operations with the main objective of attracting votes. The Web and social media are now important platforms in the campaign process — not only for communicating ideas, but also for mobilizing supporters and raising money. Candidates can also directly connect with voters without going through traditional media. Still, some claim that the impact of social media on electoral outcomes is exaggerated and rife with pitfalls.

For a paper on the changing dynamic between candidates-media-voters, see this paper “The Media Game: New Moves, Old Strategies“.

In American politics, the influence of “money” is considered by many to be excessive. On the role of money in the 2012 American presidential election, see this article and graphic in the New York Times, “The 2012 Money Race“. Also in the Washington Post: “Mad Money“. American campaigns are also criticized for negative campaigning. For an overview on this subject see “Political Advertising” and also this excerpt from the book “Going Negative“.  This article in Time magazine asks the question: “Do Attack Ads Work?” And this article asks the question: “Do election laws encourage attack ads?”

For background on social media in electoral politics, see this from NPR: “Politics in the Social Media Age: How Tweet It Is” and “The Future of Social Media Politics“. For recent data, see this PEW study “Politics on Social Networking Sites“.

For the view that the impact of social media is exaggerated, see “For Election News, Voters Still Turn to Old Media“. On the potential pitfalls, see “Social Media Sites Turn Out to Present One More Land Mine for Politicians“. See also “When Campaigns Manipulate Social Media“.

For a non-U.S. example, see this one from Switzerland: “From Zurich, a Brilliant Political Campaign on Facebook“. For social media in British politics, see this from the BBC, “Social Media in UK Politics” and this infographic giving stats on social media and British politics.

Finally, for an academic paper on the subject of social media and political debate, see “Getting Political on Social Network Sites: Exploring Online Political Discourse on Facebook“.