Zusammenfassung
As the strategic use of social media by politicians and other political actors approaches ubiquitousness, scholars have responded by chronicling the various ways in which social media can be harnessed successfully. We argue that the high propensity for strategic communication failure is too often overlooked, however, and attempt to address this by using a contemporary case as a lens through which to view how social media use can also undermine an actor’s message. Focusing on the first several months of Donald J. Trump’s presidency, we advance a four-part argument using specific examples from the early Trump Administration that showcase ways large and small that unstrategic use of social media can derail political and policy objectives.
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Notes
- 1.
Compare the chapter by Michael Oswald in this edited volume.
- 2.
The most liked and retweeted tweet from the campaign season was when Clinton retweeted Trump, telling him to “delete your account.” It has been liked over 715,000 times.
- 3.
To qualify for DACA recipients must have arrived in the U.S. before turning 16 years old.
- 4.
Memoranda represent one of several executive actions presidents use to create policy, unilaterally.
- 5.
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Conroy, M., Vaughn, J. (2018). Undermining the Message: How Social Media Can Sabotage Strategic Political Communication Actions. In: Oswald, M., Johann, M. (eds) Strategische Politische Kommunikation im digitalen Wandel. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-20860-8_5
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