Social Media & American Presidential Elections: Twitter's power as an upcoming tool to political campaigning

Abstract

In 2008 the United States marked its history with the election of Barack Obama, the first African American to be elected as President of the United States. An election that changed US’s socio-economic background but also presidential elections on the whole. With regard to new media’s powerful presence in his presidential campaign, Barack Obama’s 2008 internet and social media campaign, introduced a new style of political communication engaging voters and candidates on a higher level. In 2016, Donald J. Trump, US’s most well-known real estate mogul, manages with his far-right political stance to win the 2016 presidential election, changing once again US’s socio-economic plan and future while stepping on Barack Obama’s “recipe” in using social media platforms. In particular, Twitter, becomes Donald Trump’s tool to his election while he is the direct communicator with the American citizens. The purpose of this study is to analyze how Donald Trump’s Twitter campaign and socio-economic plan managed to win the 2016 election despite mass media’s massive propaganda against his profile.