Social media in the 2020 United States presidential election

The Democratic Party nominee Joe Biden also made use of social media networks to express his views and opinions on important events such as the Trump administration's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the protests following the murder of George Floyd, and the controversial appointment of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.

Social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook let users publicly support their candidate of choice and interact with other partisans by joining online communities and taking part in virtual events.

[5] Data from Socialbakers shows that 72% of American electorates are active on at least one social media platform, and 69% of those citizens only have an online presence on Facebook.

The software repeatedly flagged Republican candidate Donald Trump's posts, which led him to accuse social media companies of bias against his campaign.

[8][9] The Trump campaign also utilized targeted advertising on the social media site Facebook, by hiring political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica to create these personalized ads for users.

[10] A subsequent whistle-blowing by an anonymous source, (later revealed to be former Cambridge Analytica employee Christopher Wylie) revealed that personal data of the users had been illegally used, which led to a major data scandal and the liquidation of the company, as well as the eventually testification of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in front of the United States Congress.

[20] The Bernie Bros ended up facing backlash from the candidate throughout the election as there were multiple instances of the fan base harassing individuals who disagreed with Sanders.

[23] Similar to his Republican party opponent, Donald Trump, Joe Biden made extensive use of Twitter to broadcast news of his campaign, as well as his opinions on various policies and his proposed changes.

Biden used digital advertising to send out messages of unity and strength in the midst of the pandemic, bringing electorates a sense of comfort during the global crisis.

Trump's re-election campaign has been making use of use of multiple social media platforms as well as targeted ads since mid-2019 in an attempt to gain voters early.

[29] Trump originally downplayed the seriousness of COVID-19, hosting a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma on June 20, 2020, to promote his campaign despite the emergent pandemic crisis.

[33] The 2020 presidential election proved to be a time for third-party candidates to make their social media presence known online in addition to the traditional Democratic or Republican nominees.

Front runner of the third party race, libertarian Jo Jorgensen's most prominent social media moment was her announcement that she was going to cancel her 'Let Her Speak' rally after being bitten by a bat.

[34] Jo's 'Let Her Speak' rally[35] and movement gained traction online as she wanted a place in the presidential debates next to Trump and Biden after securing her spot on the ballots of all fifty states.

[36] With Twitter being the prominent form of his communication, Kanye West's surprising election announcement was made through a tweet on July 5, 2020, where he wrote "We must now realize the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future.

[42] In December 2019, the Wall Street Journal reported that Sanders and Trump were the most active on Facebook, followed by Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren.

[44][45] On Thursday, March 5, 2020, Twitter released new features said to act against the spread of disinformation surrounding the 2020 election, including a new policy that attempts to flag misleading media.

Twitter defines misleading media as synthetic, manipulated, or out-of-context content that may deceive or confuse users and lead to the spread of misconceptions.

According to Twitter's then head of site integrity Yoel Roth, moderators are looking out for evidence of alteration to content causing a change to its meaning.

Accounts such as @tiktokforbiden gained hundreds of thousands of followers due to their platform being a place where creators could make videos about their political views.