The idea of a social media blitz was essentially birthed by President Trump during his first presidential campaign. After all, there are not many better ways to reach voters than by using a platform online. What came of that was multiple hilarious tweets, and a candidate that could relate to people on a more normal scale. Rather than typical cookie cutter politician accounts run by an intern.
Part of Trump's game the last 10 years has been hammering social media and getting his message across there. Mostly because the mainstream media refuses to do it or fabricates a lie to spin his words. The Department of Homeland Security in Trum's second term has been very active on social media, particularly when it comes to deportation efforts.
The account has gone viral multiple times and now are reaching 40 million Americans a week on social media. That is essentially cutting off mainstream media from being able to wield fading influence they believe they still possess.
John Binder of Breitbart says this has been the long-term goal of Trump's in his war against fake news media.
"Cutting the corporate establishment media out of the equation, and taking messaging directly to the public," he says.
The mainstream media for years now has tried to influence people by being very selective in their media coverage. If it tends to benefit a liberal point of view, they focus on it. If it is anything remotely positive relating to the GOP or Trump, they either ignore it, or spin it negatively.
This nixes their ability to do that and tell people about news the media ignores. In Wisconsin recently, an illegal alien with a criminal record for drunk driving ended up killing a high school couple. The media has ignored it, while continuing to praise illegal immigrants for 'fighting such a tough battle.'
But because of the Trump administration's savviness with understanding social media, people are getting to hear an outraging story that otherwise would have been brushed aside.
"It has generated hundreds of thousands of impressions and views, without ever having to get the media to pick up the story...because DHS does not need the media to pick up the story now," says Binder. "They are taking that message directly to the public themselves."
It is also valuable for the administration that a large number of people now use social media as their primary news source. Whether or not that is a good thing is another argument. But that is where people are going for the news now.
It is a change in the behavior of Americans, and it is leaving the legacy media in a tailspin.
"It is making the public not only less reliant on establishment, but their habits are to not longer to go the media anymore for news," Binder says.
It is another indictment on the downfall of the American media, and how unreliable they have become.
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