How social media can make or break an election campaign

The federal election isn’t until next month but already multiple candidates are out of the running because of old social media posts.

Ontario Green Party candidate Erik Schomann was forced to resign because of an Islamophobic Facebook post. Winnipeg Conservative candidate Cameron Ogilvie stepped down because of discriminatory comments on social media. British Columbia NDP candidate Dock Currie bowed out of the race shortly before the writ was dropped as a result of “problematic social media engagement two years ago” which he called “flippant and aggressive” and does not reflect who he is today.

Peter Chow-White, professor of communications at Simon Fraser University, called the resignations surprising considering the use of social media in election campaigns is not new and has been around for a couple of election cycles now.

“We’re well over a decade into social media being part of our everyday lives and especially part of political strategies. If people haven’t vetted their profiles properly, it just seems like a rookie move,” said Chow-White.

He said old posts that turn up during elections put enormous pressure on the party leaders. Chow-White asks how these inappropriate posts were missed, adding if candidates are still being dropped because of social media posts, parties are obviously not doing enough to vet their candidates.

“If they don’t have someone who is running their communications strategy and someone that sits down with every single candidate and goes through their social media with a fine toothed comb — there is no such thing as too far back — then they’re not doing their job,” said Chow-White.

While not everyone is a communications professional, Chow-White explained in today’s politics, every single candidate needs to be one. They also need to remember everything they put on social media is on the public record.

“If it goes online it’s not private. We know this by now and if people are acting like it is private or it’s no one’s business, then they’re missing the point and they probably should bow out early,” said Chow-White.

If used correctly, social media can be a valuable tool. It allows candidates to extend their reach and target certain people and areas. That’s where the data comes into play.

“If they’re savvy about how they’re using data, then they can use it to listen to what their constituents are saying without actually being inside a town hall or at their front door,” he said.

The Americans are much better at this, according to Chow-White, who said Canadians are lagging behind.

He’s also seeing social media being used as a way for people working on campaigns to bypass traditional media.

“They have their own digital megaphones now that they can go directly to their constituents. They can get their message directly out rather than in traditional media where they would have to talk to reporters in order to get their messages out,” said Chow-White.