Social Media in Politics, U.S. Presidential Election

     Let's talk a bit about this election shall we. We have one candidate that's painfully out of touch with anyone who isn't a straight white male and another who can't seem to remember what day it is. I'm sure you can establish who's who in this scenario, with choices like these how is it that we were even able to reach a decision? This year social media was a huge part of it. I counted 34 separate posts by various individuals on my personal Instagram account within one hour three days before the election that had something to do with voting one way or the other. This seems like a high number at first glace but in reality that was just the tip of the iceberg. 

    Over half of these posts from this time frame were some sort of celebrity endorsement. I follow people from all walks of life so it would make sense that I would see support for both sides. For example a demographic skewing group of young celebrities called the Nelk Boys supports Trump (possibly?), which might seem strange for a group of multiracial youtubers in their 20's. They even went so far as to meet the former President on Air Force One prior to the election. To be fair they've made plenty of videos trolling Trump supporters as well but none the less plenty of young Republicans have used the Boys as fuel for their dumpster fire. In addition rappers like Lil Pump and Lil Wayne voiced their support for Donald Trump on social media. My theory is that Pump doesn't want to succumb to the new Biden tax plan that would most definitely effect him. Wayne on the other hand has always had a different view of certain things. Mr. Carter is an avid supporter of the police citing an incident where an officer saved his life after getting shot when he was young. Reportedly his girlfriend even left him following his endorsement. These are unusual examples of Support for Donald Trump so let's talk about one that hits the nail on the head, UFC fighter Colby Covington. Cited in the past for flippant remarks about race and even going so far as to say he would beat a 250 pound, 6'8 Lebron James in a brawl after an internet spat shows this man is borderline delusional. While he is considered a top welterweight and is a former champ in the division to be entirely honest the only reason his actions haven't cost him his career is that Dana White loves the drama and controversy he brings. With Trump support plastered all over his social media it was just  matter of time before he got noticed by the former President who at one point even called him post fight in the octagon to congratulate him on a win. 

    

    I would say I saw more support for Joe Biden on my personal feed. I follow stars like Chris Evans and other avengers cast members who actually hosted a superhero themed campaign event supporting Biden. With Marvel films being arguably the most popular franchise it's unimaginable how much attention this brought and how many votes this flipped for younger voters who have been watching these Hero's save the world on screen for the last nearly 15 years. Speaking of supporters from iconic franchises, Mark Hamill has been very pubic not only for his support of Biden but for his dislike of Trump. Luke Skywalker sides with the right of the people and he has made that explicitly clear on Instagram and Twitter . Beyonce, Queen B herself, has been slightly less vocal than others but was sure to voice her support and congratulations to Joe Biden on his presidential campaign. Her last three election related posts garnered a whopping  5.6 million likes. Another influence on the youth was Disney's Moana star Auli'i Cravalho who spoke numerous times supporting Biden on Instagram and Twitter. Younger stars being politically active can be great for activating other young voters, she certainly had my attention. At 19 years old she's already taken firm stances on the advancement of rights for women, minorities, immigrants, and the LGBTQ+ community. In addition former voice of Mulan, Ming-Na Wen also voiced her support for Biden. It appears Disney affiliates were clearly mostly pro Biden in this election (since Marvel actors are now Disney affiliates as well). This includes one of the biggest stars of modern entertainment, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. He released a video giving his full endorsement of Joe Biden for President which was posted by Joe Biden's YouTube. Johnson has used his own platforms to further endorse his decision. 

     As far as the candidates social media activity Trump takes the cake. His massive library of tweets seems to grow by the hour. Joe Biden seems to have taken a more measured approach. In reality I believe the majority of Biden's campaigning was actually done by his supporters via their social media. He was in the limelight proportionally less than Donald Trump this cycle. In a way it worked out for him, less publicized speeches meant less chances for Joe Biden to slip up mentally and dig himself into a hole. Trump however was given free reign to say essentially whatever he wanted over live broadcasts and the internet which led to various deal breaking statements which no doubt turned some votes. On one Friday amidst protests over police brutality, he sent over 400 for the week. He sent 78 in under and hour from 8-9am. No, seriously. You can check out the break down of that day here. Needless to say this was the most single day social media activity of any President to date and many of his tweets/retweets were unsavory to say the least. Memes have also been prominent this election cycle. I counted over 50 on my feed in a span of an hour and a half on election day. Internet Comedians like DonnyDrama and Whitepeoplehumor have had a field day flaming both candidates but at the end of the day many of the biggest meme pages like them were in support of Joe Biden. And if you don't think that's a lot of outreach Whitepeoplehumor (a.k.a. Kevin Flynn) has 4.4million followers on his page alone. I also have to mention a lone hero bringing pro democracy content to the masses, a hero created by quarantine. Essentially a man in his twenties created a meme page called Quentin.Quarantino that took the world by storm. His fervent support and steady content made him a solid ally for the Biden campaign. Lastly I feel the need to mention the video. If the one I'm referring to doesn't come to mind then chances are you haven't seen it. Joe Biden used an interesting tactic to reach Latino voters at one of his gatherings. Joe Biden walks out on stage and says "I just have one thing to say....hold on" then this man holds his phone up to the hot mic and plays "Despacito" . This is what's called swinging for the fences and he did so beautifully. I have heard supporters of both candidates talk about this moment in sheer awe of this play. Joe Biden spawned some of the best memes of this race and I firmly believe some of them helped him gain votes and achieve victory.

    For a larger list of which celebrities endorsed who, potentially helping them secure a victory I'll link it here.