How Did Twitter Affect The 2016 United States

In this era of information explosion, people can find almost any information they want on the Internet, but at the same time, this information also unknowingly affects our thoughts and behaviors. Social media, as the most popular trend, is one of the typical examples. They affect our fashion aesthetics, cultural thoughts, and even political behaviors to certain degrees. One thing that really stands out to me is how Twitter affected the 2016 United States presidential election and this is also the first time I realized the power of social media. The 2016 United States presidential election was a fiercely divisive election, featuring Republican nominee Donald Trump against Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Trump was known for his prolific

The first is about rally announcements and reminders. “Trump frequently used Twitter to announce and promote his campaign rallies, which were a keyway to energizing his base and generate media attention” (Bickart, Fournier, & Nisenholtz, 2017). He would often tweet about upcoming rallies on the days before the event, posting photos and videos at the same time. This action may have helped encourage supporters to attend political rallies, potentially motivating them to vote. Also, Trump's frequent use of Twitter was aimed at appealing directly to his supporters, with tweets that emphasized the significance of voting and the high stakes of the election. He would often use language designed to motivate his base, including describing the election as "rigged" or "stolen," and emphasizing the necessity to "make America great again." These direct appeals may have played a crucial role in mobilizing his supporters to turn out and vote. In addition, Trump’s frequent tweets also helped to create a sense of community among his supporters, which made his follower more engaged with the tweets and made him easier to “build a strong and dedicated base of supporters who felt connected to his campaign and invested in his success”. Moreover, Trump's tweets may have also influenced undecided voters. For example, a week before the election, Trump used Twitter to promote a conspiracy theory that the

Studies have shown that Trump's tweets received significantly more media coverage than those of other presidential candidates, with 31% of news stories about the election in the month leading up to the election focusing on him, compared to just 14% for Clinton (Gottfrie, Barthel, & Mitchell). This increased media coverage helped shape public opinion and influenced the political conversation. Furthermore, research from the University of Utah found that voters who followed Trump on Twitter were more likely to vote for him than those who did not, and those who engaged with his tweets were more likely to view him favorably and be motivated to vote. Additionally, Trump's tweets often focused on controversial political issues such as immigration and trade, and according to a study by the analytics firm Crimson Hexagon, his tweets on these issues helped shape public perception of them. For example, his tweets on immigration focused on the idea of building a wall along the US-Mexico border, which brought the issue to the forefront of the political conversation and influenced public opinion (Perrott,