International Journal of Social Science Research (IJSSR)

The Impact of Social Media on Public Opinion and Political Campaigns

In recent society, social media has had great importance in the way that it shapes public opinion about current politics and campaigns. In this paper, we study how social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram…) has changed the political landscape by facilitating democratic processes and its inconvenient consequences. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the effect of social media on public opinion, with a particular interest in how political candidates make use of these media to change the way voters perceive them. The use of targeted advertising, viral content, and data analytics to shape political messages and then mobilise voters is examined. Finally, the paper also considers the negative effect of social media, such as information dissemination, cause of echo chambers, and enhancing political polarisation. Using case studies of recent political campaigns, the paper illustrates social media’s use for both improving democratic participation and influencing the public sentiment. Finally, when analysing the role of social media in politics and their ethical concerns, the paper finishes by highlighting the problems of privacy, use of data, and accountability of tech companies. Though social media can strengthen democratic engagement, the research suggests that its potential to do so has equal potential for harm and requires careful regulation so as to not degenerate into divisive incitement of an ignorant and emotive electorate.