Once upon a time, election campaigns meant long hours of intensive knocking on doors, organised campaign meetings and gatherings, printed materials to be distributed and lots of socialising and (manual) networking nationwide.
Today, with the advent of digital technology, it includes investing heavily on social media platforms, honing hashtags, rallying retweets and clicking of “Likes” on Facebook.
Getting one’s message across is now only a few clicks away. Cutting through those long hours and processes to reach out to voters has never been this convenient. The digital era has also opened up an easier way to reach out to young voters who spend a lot of time on social media platforms like Facebook Live, Snapchat and YouTube.
Elections in the past had not always been genteel but regulated in many ways. All that has changed now. As there is currently not much control over the Internet, the electoral parties are taking advantage of this to be as prolific as they can to turn their opponents’ gaffes and conflicting statements into online mash-ups. Social media platforms allow the electoral candidates to also target specific segments of voters as well as gain knowledge of the information on the statistical data of their voters and strategise their campaigns accordingly. Although it is still unclear if all the “Likes” translate to actual votes in these campaigns, it is still strong enough to influence many all over the nation in the shortest time possible.
Not only are election campaigns going online on social media platforms, it has also allowed room for tech innovations. In 2014 for example, two politics professors in Ireland designed an online tool named WhichCandidate, a “one-stop shop” voting advice application where voters can find out all about the candidates and their issues in the election campaign. Voters were able to compare all the candidates in the constituency and find the best suited candidate to vote on one platform.
There are many other online tools that follow pursuit in other countries such as VoteMatch, Vote Compass, Wahl-O-Mat and more. The use of such online tools was said to play an important role in US President Barack Obama’s huge successful digital campaigns. And marketing influencers have claimed that president-elect Donald Trump had used a little known data firm, Cambridge Analytica, in his strategy to focus and approach targeted sectors.
Times have indeed changed and the election landscape has also evolved the world over. Swaying an election to one’s favour is also taking on a more tech-savvy approach. Data generated from bots can reach out vast and fast to unaware online users. Bots are automated social media accounts that are able to interact with users from all over the world. These vicious bots are able to spam the social media accounts faster than a speeding bullet and are highly used today in all economics of the world.
While the digital era has brought lots of pros into the scene, it also has its fair share of cons in the way election campaigns are run. There will always be those who will capitalise on the loopholes in the digital world to their own advantage. Spreading fictional statements, and unwarranted data or stories and images to influence voters are unfortunately becoming so much easier in digital election campaigns. It seems so much easier to Tweet or shout out on Facebook, and the saddest part is that many will actually believe what is being dished out, without verifying them first.
The Digital Revolution has undoubtedly changed the election landscape forever. Social media allows political parties to convey their messages and manifestos to a wide pool of voters in a snap. Digital interactive tools have made it possible for an election machinery to study voter sentiments and target specific groups.
It goes without saying that at the end of the day, it will be the voters who decide. But, with digital tools, one will be better equipped to do battle. The push towards digital technology is only going to increase in future political campaigns. Those who adapt faster to the new and emerging media and technologies have a brighter chance to come out winners.
Ahmad Kushairi is editor of BOTs, the weekly tech section in Life&Times. Trained in Maths, he has since traded his problem-solving skills with writing about how tech has helped to transform the world for the better