How social media is impacted by campaigns

Recently, you may have noticed your social media feeds looking a little different. Instead of cute cat videos, fashion trends and sports highlights, you’re probably seeing more news stories, political content and election ads. What happened to the cat videos?

The answer lies in the election cycle. In the past, political campaigns primarily reached voters through television news, newspapers, billboards and radio advertisements. While those channels could be overwhelming, they seem almost unobtrusive compared with today’s digital landscape. During election season, campaign messaging now appears everywhere: interrupting YouTube videos, inserted into podcasts and appearing every few swipes on TikTok and Instagram. A recent New York Times investigation found that influencers across the political spectrum have been paid to promote certain candidates or political viewpoints. Social media has fundamentally changed the way we encounter and engage with politics.

The impact of social media on politics extends far beyond election advertising. In 2022, Amnesty International published a report concluding that Facebook played a role in the violence against the Rohingya people in Myanmar. The report found that Meta’s algorithms amplified extremist disinformation and hateful content, increasing the risk of real-world violence. Amnesty described Meta’s moderation efforts as a “game of whack-a-mole,” questioning whether the company could effectively control the spread of harmful content. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, many social media platforms faced mounting criticism for their inability to curb misinformation and disinformation. However, in January of this year, Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads, announced significant changes to its content moderation policies. Similarly, Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, now X, was accompanied by a reduction in content moderation practices related to misinformation.

As a result, political advertisers have greater access to our attention than ever before, while facing fewer restrictions on the content they distribute. Combined with advances in artificial intelligence, deepfake technology and automated bot networks, today’s information environment can be especially difficult to navigate during election season. Fortunately, we live in a state taking steps to address these challenges. In 2023, Minnesota passed Statute 609.771, making it a crime to knowingly distribute deceptive political deepfakes within 90 days of an election.

So, what can you do to navigate election-related information in your own social media feeds? Here are a few strategies.

First, pause and question the content that appears in your feed:

Is this post designed to provoke a specific emotional reaction?

Does the claim seem extreme or too good to be true?

Does it differ significantly from information reported by other credible sources or from what you’ve observed in previous elections?

Next, try the SIFT method, developed by digital literacy expert Mike Caulfield:

Stop

Before reading, sharing or reacting to a post, pause and consider what you already know about the topic and the source.

Investigate the Source

Research the author, organization or account behind the content. What expertise do they have? What biases or motivations might influence how they present information? Find Better Coverage Compare information across multiple sources, including reputable news outlets, fact-checking organizations such as RumorGuard, academic sources and even Wikipedia as a starting point. This practice is often called lateral reading. Trace Claims to Their Original Context Follow citations and references back to their original sources. If the source is an image, use a reverse image search tool to determine where it first appeared, whether it has been altered, and whether it is being presented in the correct context. Finally, maintain a healthy sense of skepticism. Not everything you see online is false, but not everything is true, either. When you are unsure whether a source or claim is trustworthy, don’t hesitate to consult an expert, including your friendly neighborhood librarian.