Larry D. Lauer

Public relations and advertising firms are using social media marketing tools to help politicians win in an information-cluttered and confusing world.  

The Brexit campaign in the UK was able to make it look like huge numbers of Brits wanted to leave the EU. The Trump 2016 campaign used the same tactics to win the election in the US.  And further, the Russians, Chinese, Iranians and others around the world are doing the same thing now. Politics will never be the same.

Here is how it’s done:

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Tik Tok, Reddit and other social media platforms collect private information. This personal data identifies small pockets of forgotten and frustrated people, as well as intellectuals and wealthy people who feel they have fallen behind and deserve a better place in the world. Messages are customized for them on topics designed to stir their anger and reinforce their dissatisfaction. Advertising is also targeted directly to them using the same social media platforms. And while they are receiving personally customized messages, they are also becoming predisposed to accept an authoritarian’s solution to their discontent.

All this happens on social media platforms which the general public never sees. The public knows the issues because the news media have covered official statements and political events. But many end up surprised after votes are counted. They just can’t figure out how extreme ideas, or a would-be authoritarian, could win. Social media is how.

Unlike the dictators he so admires, our president has a lack of knowledge of his country’s history, a misunderstanding of recent world events, a serious dearth of modern management skills, a lack of planning for a second term, an inability to call upon empathy, an overwhelming concern for only himself, and virtually no ethical compass. A second term for him… would be a total nightmare for us.