I Did Obama’s Social Media. Democrats Aren’t Ready for What’s Next | Opinion
Summary
Scott Goodstein, who led Barack Obama’s social media campaign in 2008, warns that political misinformation tactics have changed. Campaigns can now send targeted, misleading videos and messages to small groups of voters without public detection, making it harder to control and fact-check false information in elections.Key Facts
- In 2008, Goodstein created Obama’s social media campaign, pioneering new digital methods in politics.
- Political groups use “social media missiles,” short, targeted ads or texts aimed at specific voter groups before fact-checkers can respond.
- Misinformation does not need to go viral to be effective; reaching a few thousand persuadable voters in key areas can influence elections.
- AI technology allows cheap creation of many ad variations distributed to different audiences.
- Attempts to limit unsolicited political text messages were loosened during President Trump’s administration and by a Supreme Court ruling.
- Large sums of money are spent on misleading political ads, such as $5 million in Ohio in 2023, which included false claims about abortion-related amendments.
- Fact-checking resources at the state level are limited, with many fact-checkers focusing less on local political claims.
- In 2026, Ohio voters face a $25 million ad campaign full of misleading personal attacks against a gubernatorial candidate.
Read the Full Article
This is a fact-based summary from The Actual News. Click below to read the complete story directly from the original source.
