Social Media Communication

When it comes to indirect lobbying, social media has opened up as a new avenue for interest groups to communicate to members and to reach new audiences. It is in the best interest of a special interest group to reach the maximum audience for the smallest investment. Social media presents itself as an answer to that challenge. An option that someone has while engaging with social media is to use it for ideological purposes or to follow causes. For example, if PETA has an instagram account and someone chooses to follow it, they can repost a call to action (PETA March for Animals Walk), a donation drive, or membership drives. There relevance to members is heightened when a group has a local account “PETA_Miami305” which gives even more specific information that is relevant to those who are members/interested in the cause.  Facebook as a social media platform has been fraught by allegations of fake news and data mining. I have had people in my family post fake political news when Obama was president and during this presidency. In an ulterior way, Facebook has the ability to create groups, which allows for people to self mobilize and organize a a political event and invite everyone. Benefits to utilizing social media are various. When it comes to cost, it is much more effective than printing flyers, for instance. Another benefit in utilizing social media is reaching a vast audience.

In addition, it allows for instantaneous access to those who follow the group. If, for example, there were live developments for a case or vote, a platform like Twitter would allow for live tweeting as well as a live broadcast on periscope. In addition, it allows for people to take a cause on their own and act as a representative or repeater for the group. An example would be if the Sierra Club did not have a chapter in Miami and someone took it upon themselves to mobilize. Some of the negative aspects include lack of moderation. One aspect of lobbying is a crucial but I believe borders on deceptive. As a random example, let’s say an interest group who wants to affect environmental laws states “plastic that is not recycled and thrown into the ocean breaks down into carcinogens” but might leave out that the percentage of plastic that does this is low and leaves out relevant elements regarding the data. Such stats might be shows in a square on IG (as that’s the format) in bold colors to draw attention. Does it work? Yes. Is it ethical? Depends who you ask. Interest groups have an agenda, and are likely to use data to support their cause. By packaging it in a simple “sound byte” type way, it may trick someone into believing something that isn’t true.