Alexandria Ocasio Cortez VS Trump
The politicians utilizing Twitter, the fourth arm of power.
Meghan Morris [603 words]
Twitter can be utilised by political actors to deliver a direct, instantaneous, unfiltered message. Two significant politicians have gone head to head on Twitter; Donald Trump and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over the American border crisis. Trump’s animosity towards the US-Mexico border has become the background noise of his administration. This said, there has been a huge spike in unauthorised migration to the US since the end of 2018. Thusly, it has been recognised as a humanitarian crisis. Once the public became aware of the forbidding conditions for migrants at the border, a Twittersphere outrage was unleashed.
Some would argue that the future of political communication with evolving communication technologies, such as Twitter are damaging democratic practice by replacing thoughtful discussion with simplistic soundbites and potentially manipulative messages.
Social media platforms are incredibly useful to political actors for a myriad of reasons, but they are a double-edged sword, often serving as a potential breeding ground for the distribution of fake news and deliberate misinformation.
While the border camps have been debated in the political arena, it was Twitter where these politicians raised significant interest and awareness to the issue. Donald Trump’s adamant criticisms of both AOC personally and her political position served to create more discussion around the issue.
In particular, AOC’s reference to the camps as concentration camps, became a contentious issue which many twitter users internationally joining in the discourse. Some arguing her statements were factually correct and others arguing that her alignment with the holocaust was disrespectful and fear mongering. Regardless of the point of view, the conversation exemplified the use of Twitter as a platform to discuss news beyond the event and analyse and interpret a political issue.
There are a number of key elements which define successful use of social media which can be observed in both literature and practise. Literature demonstrates that an unprofessional approach to social media communication can actually be highly beneficial. Social media use relies heavily on the authentic communications between users. High profile political users of twitter blend in and appear more relatable to their constituents when they treat the social media platform more casually.
Donald Trump in particular exemplifies the casual, unprofessional approach to his twitter, often posting his thoughts or un-proofread tweets. Utilising this platform, a typo can become iconic and a symbol of personality rather than carelessness. AOC also appeals to users of social media often utilising slang terms and emoji’s to relate to her audience. Voters are more likely to engage with casual communication as it feels authentic and trustworthy,
Another key element of successful social media use is consistent activity within the platform. Social media relies heavily on sharing and interaction and keeping content fresh in viewer’s minds is a consistent process in a sharing driven world. Both Donald Trump and AOC regularly engage with the platform posting a new tweet or a retweet at least daily but normally at multiple intervals.
For many leading political figures, Twitter serves as an inexpensive, instant means to forge relationships with wider audiences. With the potential to turn an event from simply a news story to a public conversation, Twitter has transformed political communication entirely. It is safe to accept that the internet and social media platforms, especially Twitter have brought an apparent opportunity to transform the way politicians communicate with one another. However, through the twitter events regarding Trump and AOC, it is evident that Twitter enables the two to frame their news anyway they mean, impacting public opinion through the mediatization and populism strategies.
