AFCO II Hackers
- Technically not the correct term, but universally recognised. The more correct term would be ‘targeted political social media fake news campaigns’. During the Unites States presidential elections of 2016, social media (especially Facebook) was flooded with fake stories, targeted at specific demographics to increase the divide between the ends of the political spectrum. It showed the world how easily fake news can spread and impact real-world decisions and issues. Similar concerns have been raised concerning several European national elections and the 2019 European elections.
Barack Obama
- former President of the United States. In both the 2008 and 2012 US presidential elections, Barack Obama used social media to reach and motivate young people to take an interest in politics and vote. His consistent and well-regulated social media persona remained instrumental in the generally good reputation that he, his presidency and his country experienced during his two terms. “In 2010 I became the first US President who personally sent out a tweet, that made me a ‘first-social-media’ President. I believe in social media as a huge platform for communications with electorate which I can describe as a consistent political engagement for US citizens.”
Evgeny Morozov
- a blogger at Foreign Policy - has been researching slacktivism, a pejorative term for showing support for a cause through platforms like social media. He states that “Slacktivism is the ideal type of activism for a lazy generation: why bother with sit-ins and the risk of arrest, police brutality, or torture if one can be as loud campaigning in the virtual space?”. When it concerns voting, it still requires effort and active participation. The question for the future would be how to translate passive slacktivism into active citizenship.