Social media

Question 1

What three things do parties tend to use social media for?

Answer 1

• Influence
• Communicating with the public
• Listening in to public opinion

Question 2

What is the consequence of social media being an open medium?

Answer 2

It is much harder for a party or political group to gain any kind of special advantage

Question 3

How does social media benefit parties with large resources?

Answer 3

They can use tools like ads and twitter bots to influence electoral outcomes

Question 4

Where does social media’s real impact lie?

Answer 4

In the way it is reported by more mainstream and traditional outlets. As traditional media reports and debates on issues popularised by social media, these ideas become more established in the mainstream political debate and help to influence political opinions and choices

Question 5

What recent evidence has emerged that social media provides a platform for groups with vested interests to use to influence electoral outcomes?

Answer 5

• A publication revealing Russian interference in the Brexit referendum and subsequent general elections
• Cambridge Analytica have used people’s personal information to target and influence them to vote in a certain way on behalf of their clients