Discuss about the Communication Evolution for US Political Rivalry Campaigns.
Donald Trump’s campaign slogan “Make America Great Again” was not only malicious but it spread a message of hope to his supporters. Political party campaigns in the US have made a dramatic turn in the face of digital media. Propaganda as mass persuasion has a greater impact on the ICT platforms. The use of social media links like Twitter by Trump was the most effective yet it remains criticized for so many reasons. His propaganda style had a racist connotation in which he capitalized on painting immigrants as bad people saying, “They’re bringing crime, they’re rapists, and some I assume are good people…” (McCammon, 2016). News feeds travel at a high speed on network media and it affects the international and local environment. The internet is a complex media network with links to private and public settings. In addition, the US is a liberal society with freedom of media, freedom of expressions and respect for human rights. The propaganda campaign by the trump team featuring fake news about his opponents had an aim of making Clinton and Democrats look bad. Although some believed the propagandist notions, verification of fake news sources raised questions about the unethical practices in the media.
Research on fake news starts with an analysis of ethical practices in traditional media. Edson, et al., (2018) identifies types of fake news including satire, parody, fabrication, and deceptions. These are evident in the US case where sarcasm and irony ruled in media accusations. Before the advent of social media, mass media featuring the TV print and broadcast made more sense. Consumers could trust top News channels such as CNN, and ABN for reliable global and national news in the US respectively. The two-step model on mass media indicates that opinion leaders have the power to influence individuals (Choi, 2014). Social influence is important in forming public opinion and involves common tactics used in politics as well as marketing. It works by shaping and changing the public image. As a common political practice, mass persuasion would display Trump in the company of religious leaders. Mass media transmits information to people, social movements and organizations, which serve as transit systems. His team would partner with news agencies to spread false information such as Trump endorsement from the Pope (Randall, 2017). The spread of such information brought confusion as to who was more trustworthy, the media or political teams?
Social media has public forums where opinion leaders use networks to stimulate discussions. Although digital experts agree that there is a way to verify on news sources, the online platform is still a ground for unethical practices (Cadwalladr, 2016). The involvement of thousands of sites including mainstream media in propaganda tactics complicates the situation. This poses a challenge to the new filtering applications designed to disseminate selective information and ideas. Trump’s team took advantage of the patriotic nature of the American people to insinuate that the US was not great and that Clinton was responsible for the downfall. Using framing to bring to light the truth while hiding certain elements of reality, this team managed to garner a win amidst unpopular votes. The agenda-setting theory highlights tactics that have been in existence since the existence of traditional media (Golan, et al., 2015: McCombs & Shaw, 1972). Mass media campaigns have the ability to change attitudes and capture interest. This explains why editors and news team members are significant opinion shapers. Presidential elections are some of the most opinionated campaigns around the globe.
Consumers need a system that checks the content including images and discourse analysis. Chomsky and Herman give five filters, namely the ownership, advertising, source, PR, Flak and Monstrous other or anticommunism (Herman, 2018). This model reveals that fake news has consequences such as spreading individual’s interests. People need civic education on how to identify and shun fake news. By making a distinction between the real and fake news, the audience is able to recognize the distinction between the enemy and a trusted friend. Propaganda is the persuasive mode of communication-based on captivating campaigns designed to manipulate public opinion. These could be lies or half-truths about a story or selective retelling. Based on special interests, propaganda appears persuasive yet lacks supporting ground or basis. News agencies in the US are highly commercialized hence spread personal opinion for the business owners. Trump is a businessperson with shares in mainstream media. In order to persuade the group, the propaganda strategist promises freedom to diverse opinions. Sometimes propaganda incorporates allied forces and may feature external parties (McIntyre, 2016). News agencies also had a reputation for experiences such as the Iraq news coverage in which journalistic opinion received criticism for being untrue.
In a society where leaders are to have a high moral standing and respect from the public, the use of scandals, in this case, would cost a contestant votes. By capitalizing on the shared practices, the trump team spread propaganda against the Democrats successfully. Castells, et al., (2012) identify the technology-driven journalism as a new phenomenon that redefines journalism but may have consequences. Current development reveals the public demand for such information and an interpretation of the performance of journalism with a focus on public interest. The public sphere is a principle based on access to all. The media has a role to be the people’s watchdog. Today opinion polls provide a platform for media houses to reaffirm their professionalism by presenting evidence-based data. PR strategies place an emphasis on than public as then motivation behind.
Unlike the authoritarian system where media has limitations, a liberal democracy gives the freedom (Bennett & Segerberg, 2012). Propaganda strategy manages public opinion through visuals, choice of words, and strategic release of information. A comparative analysis of political tactics using Twitter as a tool for advocacy and public diplomacy strategies reveals the need for better digital strategies for effective communication (Collins & Dodd, 2017).
Using a mini-study designed to identify evidence of mass persuasion in the Trump campaign; I took a closer look at the digital work, the content analysis and researched information about the Trump campaigns. With reference to secondary sources of research, the experiment tried to find out the effect that the fake news had on people. Using an online platform to collect data, I presented 20 questions for dispersing to the participants. I considered five respondents from four of Trump’s strongholds. I picked the participants from an online political forum and asked them to participate voluntarily.
This method of data collection was easy, flexible and I got a high response rate. What’s more, it cost me nothing, just time and credible links. Although I managed to get their email addresses, a lot of information was not verifiable. To prepare the questions, I used Survey Monkey, which is free. The limited virtual platform meant I could not observe the participants well (Blair, et al., 2013).
The results show that 10 respondents who voted for Trump felt that the campaign or part of the trump campaign had massive effects. With millions of Twitter and Facebook followers, consumers were keen on trumps every tweet was. The reception had mixed reactions and critiques. 13 respondents clicked on the fake news despite the fact that they felt it was a hoax. From the findings, more than 50% of participants agree that fake news sells faster than accurate information. Most people prefer to read the ugly out of curiosity. The research also noted the high speed of sharing fake news from numerous links. Twitter users confirmed that they were more likely to retweet a fake news piece that a captivating heading. 80% of the respondents also agreed that political fake news sold as high as celebrity fake news. However, 15 out of 20 felt the need for a solution against fake information but did not know how.
Conclusion
Mass persuasion featuring propaganda tactics is a common political strategy that has been in existence for ages. Its effectiveness in presidential campaigns has given unworthy candidates an edge over the overqualified and respected candidate. However, the theory has come under heavy criticism because of the unethical practices evident in popular democracies like the US. Although democracy advocates for transparency, truth, and public participation, political candidates like Donald Trump have capitalized on crude tactics like Fake news to spread lies or half-truth during campaigns. This has had a negative effect on political diplomacy. As a result, it becomes a challenge to commercialized media houses and personalities who are channels for reliable and truthful news and information. A study on the effectiveness of fake news indicates high public interest in such untruthful information, for reasons. This provides a gap for further research on the use of propaganda and online communication in campaign strategies for political and marketing uses.
References
Bennett, W. L. & Segerberg, A., 2012. The logic of connective acton: Digital media and the personalization of contentioys politics. Information, Communication & Society, 15(5), pp. 739-768.
Blair, J., Czaja, R. F. & Blair, E. A., 2013. Designing surveys: A guide to decisions and procedures. s.l.:SAGE Publication.
Cadwalladr, C., 2016. Google, democracy and the truth about internet search. The Guardian, 4 December .
Castells, M., Parks, M. & Haak, B. V., 2012. The future of Journalism: Networked Journalism. International Journal of Communication.
Choi, S., 2014. The two step flow of communication in Twitter based public forums. ResearchGate, November.33(6).
Collins, S. & Dodd, M., 2017. Public relations message strategies and public diplomacy 2.0: An empirical analysis using Central-Eastern European and Western Embassy. Public Relations Review, 43(2), pp. 417-425.
Edson, C., Tandoc, J. Z. W. L. & Richard, L., 2018. Defining “Fake News”. Digital Journalism, 6(2), pp. 137-153.
Golan, G., Lee, C. & Wanta, W., 2015. Agenda setting and international news: Media influence on public perceptions of foreign nations. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 5 July.
Herman, E. S., 2018. The Propaganda model revisited. Monthly Review, 1 January.
McCammon, S., 2016. Donald Trump has brought on countless controversies in an unlikely campaign. NPR.
McCombs, E. M. & Shaw, D. L., 1972. The Agenda-Setting Function of Mass Media. The Public Opinion Quarterly, 36(2), pp. 176-187.
McIntyre, J., 2016. To Respond or not to respond: Addressing adversarial propaganda. Military Review, pp. 60-69.
Randall, B., 2017. God wills it: Presdients and then political use of religion. Catholic Historical Review, 103(2), pp. 374-376.
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