2024 Election: Increasing Role Of Social Media In Political Campaigns

Illustration. (Irfan Meidianto / VOI)

JAKARTA - General elections are a strong foundation for our democracy, and over time, the role of social media in political campaigns is deepening.

The 2024 election will be an important milestone in political transformation dominated by social media platforms. In this article, we will explore the impact and evolution of social media roles in political campaigns in the era of the 2024 General Election.

The 2024 presidential election marks a paradigm change in campaign politics. Prospective and political parties have adopted social media as one of the main tools in achieving potential voters. The following is the key role that social media plays in political campaigns:

1. Creating Awareness: Social media provides a platform for candidates to introduce themselves and convey their campaign messages to voters. This allows candidates to build strong awareness before the official campaign begins.

2. Interaction with Voters: Social media facilitates direct interaction between candidates and voters. Candidates can quickly respond to questions, listen to input, and respond to relevant issues for voters.

3. Dissemination of Information: Social media platforms allow candidates to quickly and effectively spread campaign, video, and political message information to voters. This can trigger a quick and in-depth reaction among voters.

4. Fundraising: Prospective social media often uses as a tool to raise campaign funds. They can achieve supporters and fans directly, supporting their campaign financially.

Although the role of social media is very valuable in political campaigns, there are also challenges that must be overcome in the era of the 2024 General Election:

1. Desinformation: Social media is often used as a means of spreading false information or disinformation. Forming an effective mechanism to recognize and overcome desinformation is very important.

2. Privacy issues: Concerns about voter privacy are serious issues. Political campaigns must comply with guidelines and ethics in collecting and using voter data.

3. Filter bubble: Social media often create "filter bubbles," where voters are only exposed to views that match their beliefs, hampering healthy political dialogue.

To overcome this challenge, increasing digital literacy and voter politics is the key. Voters must be empowered with skills to distinguish accurate information from fake ones in the world of social media. Governments, political parties, and related institutions must collaborate to ensure that ethics and integrity in political campaigns in the digital era are maintained.

The 2024 election will reflect to what extent technological developments have formed a political process. With the right awareness and actions, we can ensure that social media is a tool that enrichs democracy and public participation, not a disturbing tool. With an emphasis on transparency, digital literacy, and accountability, we can take advantage of social media as a means to strengthen our democracy.