Review article -Effects on a political campaign
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The Internet was first extensively used in American political campaigns during the 2004 presidential election. Since then, the Internet has been used for many political agendas ranging from local city politics to presidential elections.
The Internet is a very cost efficient way for politicians to get their views and points across. They can also discuss why their opponent’s views and ideas will not work properly. Even though the Internet can be used by political figures for positive gain, it can also be used by criminals with very negative motives.
For instance, a criminal can set up a website that looks identical to a political figure’s own website. They can than purchase a domain name that is very similar to the political figure’s domain.
With this domain, they could distort messages, make false claims, or even accept donations. The donations would be going directly to the criminal and not the political campaign.
The Internet has already been used a great deal to spread false information. There have been countless times when there was a story published which was ultimately debunked by a trustworthy authority. Social media is another part of the Internet that is used largely for political agendas.
President Donald Trump was very active on Twitter during his road to the White House. He is still very active on Twitter as the President. Most, if not all political figures have a presence on social media. It is a cost-efficient way for them to spread their agendas to the world. However, there are a ton of hoaxes that travel around social media. This information can potentially harm a political figure if the information is extremely negative.
One of the best/ worse things about the internet is the speed at which information travels. When something happens, it is known almost immediately around the world. This shows how the Internet can have good and bad effects on a political campaign. Those who are managing political campaign websites must be aware of these risks.
While we might not care that much for politics, we are still to pray for our leaders. 1 Timothy 2:1-2 states “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” References Jakobsson, M., & Ramzan, Z. (2008).
Crimeware: Understanding new attacks and defenses. Boston, MA: Addison-Wesley Longman, Inc. Johnson, R. (2015). Security policies and implementation issues (2nd edition). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Publishers. Kruikemeier, S., Noort, G. V., Vliegenthart, R., & Vreese, C. H. (2014). Unraveling the effects of active and passive forms of political Internet use: Does it affect citizens’ political involvement? New Media & Society, 16(6), 903-920. doi:10.1177/1461444813495163
