Social Media Enabling Demagogues
Does social media enable demagogues like Donald Trump? Social media has changed drastically over the last decade, allowing us to share our thoughts instantaneously to virtually the whole world. Since social media allows us to do this, I would say yes, social media does enable demagogues like Donald trump. Much like advertisements influence people day-to-day, what they wear, what they eat, and where they go, the information people read on social media sites influences people in a similar fashion. If a celebrity suggests that Coke is a drink worthing of drinking at least once a week, you would see some people start drinking Coke once a week. As it is said, “Social media have become prominent parts of life for many young people today.” (McGillivray 2015). As compared to the previous generations, teenagers are getting majority of their information from the internet and social media platforms. Business Insider posted an article titled Teens are getting almost all of their news from Snapchat and Twitter these days. In the article is written teens never have to wait for news or information, if they have a question they are just a few key strokes away from the answer. With people growing up, and using social media every day, and getting their primary sources of information from places like Snapchat and Twitter (Godlewski 2016), people like Donald Trump have the first access to the minds of the young and others worldwide.
Often, throughout deep conversations about social media and the internet you will hear the words “don’t believe everything you see on the internet”. This has become a common phrase because it is understood there are things like fake news, and websites dedicated to spreading false information. However, this doesn’t stop people from believing everything they on the internet. Since Donald Trump’s inauguration, The Star has counted a total of 1,064 false claims made by him (The Star 2017), some of these “false claims” being posted directly to his twitter account which has amassed 47.3 million followers since the creation of his account in March of 2009. Donald Trump has also come forward and said “I doubt I would be here [presidency] if it weren’t for social media. To be honest with you.” (Baynes 2017). If many people do believe everything they read on the internet, then 47.3 million people are being sucked into believing some of Donald Trump’s false claims.
Much like social media enables demagogues, the social networking platforms are equally effective for reconcilers like Oprah Winfrey. As previously mentioned, social media has enabled us to share our thoughts instantaneously with the world, posting it to an online database where it will be kept indefinitely. For a reconciler to be able to share their thoughts about a certain subject to the whole world in a matter of seconds, it gives them a large amount of leverage. One post by an influencer like Oprah Winfrey, or Ellen DeGeneres, can start an international movement or change the outcome of a vote.
Winfrey has done many things to help make the world a better place. In an article posted titled Oprah Uses Power of Media to Change Lives, we learn about what Winfrey has done. As of 2009, Winfrey donated $40 million, and personal time to create a leadership academy for girls. Upon the creation of the school, Winfrey said all she is doing is what she would tell her listeners to do, “use their lives to make a difference in the lives of others.” (voanews 2009). Oprah has amassed a large enough quantity of followers that she made Obama’s voting expand from 423,123 to 1,596,995 during his campaign (Dai 2015). From these observations, it is clear that social media enables both demagogues, like Donald Trump, and reconcilers, like Oprah Winfrey.
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