Hold onto your hashtags, folks! Social media crashed into the political scene like a double espresso on a Monday morning, shaking up everything we thought we knew. Let’s spill the tea on how our favorite platforms have turned politics into a trending topic.
Campaigns Gone Digital
Buckle up, kids – we are going on a field trip to 2008, the year that saw the launch of the Twilight movie saga, wedding bells chimed for Beyoncé and Jay-Z, and suspenders and cropped vests were the go-to fashion statement.
Another fun addition to these pop-culture moments was the United States electing Barack Obama as the first Black president in the country’s history. In true Leo form, he incorporated technology into his campaign plans to engage with voters of all ages, leading to the first use of social media and the Internet in a presidential election! In fact, Chris Hughes, a founding member of Facebook, worked on Obama’s Facebook page and created a website that was looked at as a social network site to continue connecting with voters.
And don’t get us started on the iconic “Hope” political poster created by Shepard Fairey—this stunning piece of artwork captured Obama’s image in such a creative way that it became a cultural symbol, showcasing a new approach to how we see presidents and their public personas.
Unsurprisingly, Obama became a trendsetter for incorporating social media and creativity into political campaigns. By the 2012 election, more candidates were using an array of social media platforms and trying to match Obama’s viral success.
Trump Tweeted WHAT?!
2016 saw the introduction of a certain individual who can be easily identified through his signature orange hue, atrocious comb-over, and horribly offensive statements and tweets.
You are correct if you guessed we were referring to Donald J. Trump!
Trump went up against Hillary Clinton and, unfortunately, won the election. During his campaign, he took to Twitter (now called X) to share tweets (over 38,000 to be precise, but who’s counting?) on the press, his opponents, and misinformation in politics. Throughout his three campaigns, his voters followed his lead and took to social media to spread their thoughts and news articles that weren’t always accurate.
The rise of misinformation during this time sparked a wave of change, leading to new laws and policies on fact-checking and how social media platforms handle false information, such as labels on misleading tweets and stricter content moderation practices.
By the time Joe Biden stepped into the presidency in 2020, the focus on social media had shifted slightly. While Biden’s campaign utilized digital platforms, it leaned less on the constant social media buzz that defined Trump’s campaigns, marking a noticeable change in tone and approach in the political digital landscape.
Kamala Harris’ Viral Moment: So Brat
Where were you on July 21st, 2024, at 8:29 p.m.?
Now, a tweet that will forever live in our hearts, English pop icon Charli XCX changed an entire political campaign with three simple words: kamala IS brat.
What is brat, you might ask? We’re happy you asked. Think of that confident baddie who is unapologetically bold, speaks their mind, and knows their worth. That’s brat.
Charli’s tweet hit social media by storm as we were deep in brat summer (a topic for another blog) and gained 56K retweets, 319K reactions, and more than 62 million views. At the time of the tweet, Kamala Harris, the 2024 Democratic presidential pick, saw the opportunity to capitalize on this buzz. She spread references to the hit album across her social media accounts and even renamed her profile Kamala HQ with a logo that matched the album cover—a lime green background with a low-res Arial font style.
So brat of her.
But that wasn’t the only way the 2024 candidates leaned into youth culture. Amid a government push to shut down TikTok due to what they said were “security concerns,” candidates from both sides of the aisle strategically used the platform to engage younger voters.
Kamala Harris leaned on brat aesthetics while her campaign shared bite-sized policy explainers and meme-worthy moments. Her team even jumped on trending sounds and challenges to make her message more accessible. Meanwhile, Republican candidates took a more cautious but equally creative approach, using the platform to spread their messaging while addressing concerns about its potential ban. This TikTok battle brought a fresh, rebellious energy to the campaigns and positioned Harris as a relatable and trendy woman in power who was in tune with what the people—and the platforms—needed.
Swipe Up for Democracy? The Power of Paid Ads
If you thought your FYP was safe from political drama, think again! It’s not just your conservative Aunt Margaret who is spewing her chosen “facts” on your timeline anymore.
The 2024 election wasn’t just fought at the debate podium. It was waged in the ad spaces of TikTok, Meta, YouTube, Google, and basically any platform that reached large amounts of people and had a paid advertising option.
Online ad spending in the 2024 election reached unprecedented levels, topping $1.35 billion. Sidebar… imagine for just a moment what this country could do with that kind of money. Free healthcare? Eradicate homelessness? Anyone? This surge in digital advertising underscores the growing importance of online platforms in political campaigns.
The Brennan Center for Justice reported that this significant expenditure reflects a strategic shift towards digital engagement, aiming to reach voters where they are most active—on their devices. However, this massive investment also raises questions about the influence of money in politics and the need for updated regulations to ensure transparency and fairness in the digital age.
As the cherry on top of their paid advertising campaign strategy, political campaigns dove headfirst into the influencer pool, making waves across platforms like TikTok and Meta. The Democratic National Convention set the tone by featuring influencers such as Deja Foxx and Nabela Noor, who collectively boast over 24 million followers, to authentically connect with younger voters.
This strategy wasn’t limited to one side; both Trump and Harris’s campaigns enlisted content creators to broaden their appeal. However, this trend raises concerns about transparency, as the lack of clear regulations leaves room for manipulation and voter deceit.
These two strategies created blurred lines between content and campaign, proving that in the digital age, the race to the White House is as much about algorithms and the money put behind advertising efforts as it is about actual votes.
Politics, Platforms, and Petty Tweets? Oh My!
You thought we were done? That’s cute.
We can’t talk politics and social media without discussing Elon Musk and his controversial takeover of X in 2022 or the TikTok Doomsday we all experienced!
Musk’s tenure brought drastic changes, from removing fact-checking tools to implementing paid verification, erasing the distinction between credible voices and anyone willing to pay. This erosion of accountability created a fertile ground for misinformation to thrive, undoing much of the progress made in combating false information since Trump’s first term.
In fact, Meta recently announced several major changes that aimed at the company’s moderation policies and practices. Like X, the platform has discontinued its fact-checking program and replaced it with a system eerily similar to X’s Community Notes. While the platform is still a major player in campaign strategies, it’s apparent that it has begun favoring ad dollars and algorithmic manipulation over organic reach and meaningful user engagement.
Now, on to the equally depressing and confusing topic of the TikTok Doomsday!
President Biden signed legislation requiring TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, to sell to a U.S. owner within a year or shut down. The platform, which has been used as a powerhouse for reaching younger audiences, responded with a lawsuit against the U.S., claiming that this legislation violated the First Amendment.
However, Biden isn’t the first president to try to ban the app! Trump signed an executive order in August 2020 that claimed the app was capturing mass amounts of information about Americans and giving it to the Chinese government. It’s funny how he flipped his opinion of the app, but we will chat about that in a moment.
This is where things get really weird, friends.
The Supreme Court upheld the federal law, resulting in a dark 12 hours from January 18th to 19th. Millennials and Gen Zers were crying, influencers were spilling some major secrets, and it suddenly felt like we had reverted to colonial times, with nothing to do, nowhere to go, and no DIY to try and recreate.
Just when we thought all hope was lost and we would never see a trending dance again, the app refreshed, and users could engage again! Now, we know this sounds like a joyful time to celebrate, but it would be amiss not to think of the irony surrounding the whole ordeal: the same person who reinstated the app (ahem, orange man) is the same one who tried to ban it from the beginning. Now, that is what we call insanity!
So, What’s the Verdict?
Social media has officially put politics in its influencer era—where candidates need more than just policies; they need presence. From Obama pioneering the digital campaign game to Trump’s Twitter (X? We’re still calling it Twitter) chaos to Kamala Harris riding the brat wave, every election proves that virality is just as valuable as votes. And with paid ads now blending seamlessly into our feeds, the lines between content, campaigns, and clickbait have never been blurrier.
Whether that’s a win for democracy or just another algorithmic fever dream, that’s up to you, your timeline, and whatever TikTok serves you next. Honestly, our recommendation is to skip the headache of the ever-evolving digital jungle and leave it to us. Connect with us to learn more about BKN Creative and our services!
