I mean sure, from the standpoint of he can still speak. But like I have mentioned elsewhere- I would like to see someone successfully get elected without a social media presence. Especially with COVID the town square is digital- I dont know that I can mentally treat twitter and others like little upstarts with no power. Remember when accounts were hacked and asked for payment in bitcoin?
What would happen if those accounts were hacked and someone talked about launching nukes?
You have to start asking if what happens on those platforms -REALLY- has no effect on the physical world. I would argue that their moderation actions can non-person a politician and ruin their career with little or no public input.
I dont know what the solution is- but I dont feel confident in a democracy where six media companies and about four tech companies control all that I can see, hear and read. That does not make me feel confident in the fourth estate.
Outside of tech, most people don't care about Twitter. If you were to ask a million people what their local Congressperson or Senator said on twitter, 999,999 of them wouldn't know that their legislator had a twitter account or the handle was.
Twitter and Facebook's bans of Trump are only news because Trump relied on them so heavily. They're not the primary means of communication for politicians, nor have they ever been.
Working with political groups for social media I have to disagree with you. Obama actually was a turning point where everyone basically agreed that social media is the one true way to keep your base engaged.
Your average person may not be on twitter I give you that- your activist however. They are very likely to be on twitter if not another emerging platform at this point. And the media is much easier to reach with Twitter. Just try getting organic traction on a press release with traditional media without social media. Its painful to think about honestly.
Having worked with the CA and OH Democratic Committees the past 3 election cycles (including both Obama elections), and having dozens of friends who worked in Georgia during the runoff, I can say that social media absolutely...did not budge the needle one bit.
It all came down to in-person contacts. The Black vote didn't turn out because they saw a tweet, they came out because people knocked on their door and talked to them and convinced them to brave the cold and vote.
And just as crucially: the Republican vote didn't come out despite all of Trump's tweets, and Cruz's tweets, and all the other GOPers posting on social media. The Republican voters stayed home despite all the social media begging them to vote because the GOP didn't have the same level of in-person events for the runoff as they did for the general election.
What would happen if those accounts were hacked and someone talked about launching nukes?
You have to start asking if what happens on those platforms -REALLY- has no effect on the physical world. I would argue that their moderation actions can non-person a politician and ruin their career with little or no public input.
I dont know what the solution is- but I dont feel confident in a democracy where six media companies and about four tech companies control all that I can see, hear and read. That does not make me feel confident in the fourth estate.