The popularity of social media has forced politicians or candidates for elections to reach out to voters using the platforms. However, very few studies have sought to examine whether active campaigning on social media produces positive results. In this study, the authors explored the issue using evidence from the U.K. According to the authors, they found the U.K. the most ideal for the study because it conducted two crucial elections in quick succession in 2015 and 2017 (Bright et al. 2019). The candidates also used social media platforms, and in particular used Twitter extensively, to reach out to voters and engage them in various matters related to those elections.
The study opted for an observational study to take advantage of its high external and real-world validity. The study also tested each mechanism thought to influence outcomes to make sure they are less vulnerable to confounding variables. Finally, the study constructed a two-wave panel dataset of electoral outcomes, and political social media use to estimate a hybrid fixed effects model. Six thousand candidates were included in the study, and the results showed that U.K. politicians used Twitter widely to reach out to voters in those two elections (Bright et al. 2019). Candidates who spent more money on campaigns were also highly active on Twitter and sent thousands of tweets, suggesting that politicians considered the platform an integral part of a well funding campaign.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Incumbents used the platform more than newcomers to the political scene did. Also, the majority of the mentions about a candidate took place outside their constituencies, although a significant number of the mentions originated from constituencies and from people eligible to vote. The findings of the results of linear regression models show evidence of a positive association between Twitter use and vote outcomes. Moreover, a further analysis that controlled for incumbency and other factors still found that the use of Twitter or social media makes a difference in electoral campaigns (Bright et al. 2019). Therefore, those candidates who invested in social media fared better compared to their counterparts who ignored the platforms.
References
Bright, J., Hale, S., Ganesh, B., Bulovsky, A., Margetts, H., & Howard, P. (2019). Does Campaigning on Social Media Make a Difference? Evidence From Candidate Use of Twitter During the 2015 and 2017 U.K. Elections. Communication Research , 009365021987239. doi: 10.1177/0093650219872394
