Each year more and more people are turning to the internet to create discussions and get their ideas across. It’s also the source where most people receive information, whether it be news or updates on people’s lives, it’s being posted.
This has both negative and positive factors for political leaders. A politician can surpass the media and tweet out their thoughts, or what policy their working on, on their own. No help from the media needed. My advice to politicians in the 2017 political season is to air on the side of caution with what you tweet or post.
Donald Trump is notorious for posting controversial tweets. Even after he announced that he was running for President he continued to post messages that some deemed offensive. However, Trump supporters could argue that President Trump’s posts were transparent and he was saying what he wanted to say. Something along the lines of honesty. Although some could make that argument there is a fine line.
If @TedCruz doesn’t clean up his act, stop cheating, & doing negative ads, I have standing to sue him for not being a natural born citizen.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 12, 2016
Wow, Jeb Bush, whose campaign is a total disaster, had to bring in mommy to take a slap at me. Not nice!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 6, 2016
There definitely a lot of benefits to social media. It gives politicians a platform to create their own voice and interact with users, and more importantly their voters. Voters want to be able to relate to people in power. It lets them know that they are there for them and can understand them and their situations. So I would suggest that politicians use online social media platforms to be open and honest and try to reach users in a way that makes them relatable and more importantly trust worthy.
Social media can make a big difference in a politicians campaign. So I suggest politicians use it wisely.