Question

How have changes in the media and modern technology most changed how candidates compaign

Answer 1

Most of the established media belongs to corporations and/or wealthy individuals, who censor, redact or shape information to further their interests. During elections, these wealthy, corporate donors will choose one of the candidates and pour massive amounts of money and all the might of their media outlets to saturate the public arena and get them elected.

The arrival of the internet and social media changed all that. People no longer trust traditional media outlets and prefer independent web-based media groups. There is both a good and a bad side to this, the good side are the several balanced, responsible we media agencies that offer a factual counter-narrative to the corporate media’s. The bad side is some of the several conspiracy theory or ideological websites that indulge in emotional yellow journalism, whether it be left-wing or right wing.

In electoral terms, one of the pioneers in using the internet to effectively campaign and win an election was former Minnesota governor, Jesse Ventura. With only 300,000 dollars, he was able to beat both the Republican and the Democrat candidates and win the election. He used an aggressive and energetic group of young Millennials to spread his views and advertise his candidacy. In a higher level, Barack Obama was the first US president to use social media and the internet to win the presidency. Online campaign and fundraising allowed Obama to become a web celebrity very quickly and to challenge the established media. His rival, senator John McCain, did not use the internet as much. Finally, Bernie Sanders’ campaign also made history in 2016, when he raised over twenty million dollars in a month through thousands of 27$ donations. He raised as much money as Hillary Clinton without ever setting up a Super PAC.