From Whitmer's Webby to Desantis' campaign launch with Elon Musk, social media's role is changing politcs
Talk To the Hand: Social media's growing role in politics
The next interview your preferred candidate does that you watch may not be with a journalist, but a social media influencer. This dynamic is happening across the world and could have profound implications for how politics evolves in the U.S. - but in the 2024 election and beyond.
(FOX 2) - If someone wants a window into the future of social media's impact on politics, they could do worse than look at India for signs.
The country's prime minister Narendra Modi has 100 million followers on X, 91 million followers on Instagram, and 25 million on YouTube. His daily posts fill the scrolling feeds of his fans with inspirational messages, de-stress techniques, and even exercises.
Modi may not have been the creator of this dynamic, but he has fine-tuned the formula to directly reach voters - rather than through journalists who have traditionally been the gatekeeper for politicians getting their message out.
This marriage of politics and social media isn't just on display in Asia, either.
"If you look at what happened with the Republican primaries, where were the candidates going to do their interviews?" said Dr. Joyojeet Pal. "You'll find a number of them were doing it on popular YouTube channels."
Pal is an associate professor at Michigan's School of Information. He's an expert on how social media has influenced politics - a relevant field in today's age.
From Florida Gov. Ron Desantis' presidential bid being announced alongside Elon Musk to Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer accepting a Webby Award in the category of public service and activism for her "Governor Barbie" digital campaign, this year's cycle has been rife with examples of public servants using social media to expand their base.
"This is where influencers come in because influencers have people who follow them from across the spectrum of political views," Pal said. "So an influencer can actually be much more valuable because they bring you independents."
The first example of this relationship goes all the way back to a former presidential hopeful in 2004. Howard Dean leveraged the internet to reach more voters - until he was undone by the same dynamic when he went viral.
"One of the things that most damaged his campaign was also social media because he had made a small gaffe," said Pal.
CNN dubbed it "the scream that doomed Howard Dean."
This technique was refined by Barack Obama when he laid a blueprint that successfully reached voters and pushed him all the way to The White House.
That was back when Facebook's user base was booming. Now, apps like Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat and more offer homes for influencers to create content and reach millions of people. But that impact can be hard to fully gauge.
Talk To The Hand: Young voters and the upcoming election
From now until November, FOX 2 will be sharing stories on what millennial and Gen-Z voters want from the upcoming election and the issues that will be most motivating to them as they head to the polls. In this rolling segment 'Talk to the Hand', we'll dive into the complexities of those issues and why they could play a major role come November.
"It’s hard to measure exactly how influential they are on Gen Z voters," Pal said. "It's kind of like asking ‘how influential is Taylor Swift among young people’ or is lets say, ‘Elon Musk among young people’."
And if politicians aren't reaching out to social media influencers, they're following Modi's lead by becoming one themselves.
Take Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield, for example:
"We have to think of creative ways. Often times, young people want exciting ways to learn and you can do it through video, you can do it through dance, you can do it through cool ways to educate young people," she said, "and I think it's so important that we as elected officials and even from the presidential race, utilize social media to capture the attention of our young people and to articulate messages in different ways," said Sheffield.
And if social media has taught the world anything, it's that it's always changing. Voters can expect politics to evolve with those platforms, as well.
Talk to the Hand is a news segment that dives into the minds of young voters ahead of the 2024 election. It airs on FOX 2's daily politics show The Pulse.