The biggest moments in digital politics this year
DeSantis' disastrous launch, the decay of Twitter, and rise of Dark Brandon
From Ron DeSantis’ disastrous Twitter Spaces launch (remember that?) to the emergence of Threads and the slow decay of Twitter, it’s been a wild year writing about the internet and politics.
Looking back on 2023, these were some of the biggest moments and themes in digital politics I saw this year:
1. Ron’s failure to launch
2023 started with some in the political world predicting that Ron DeSantis would enter the presidential race and give former President Donald Trump a run for his money. Instead, DeSantis launched his campaign with a complete digital disaster, and his team wasted valuable time in stupid staffer feuds instead of going after Trump.
2. The GOP primary that wasn’t
Along those lines, it has been a tough year for other Republican presidential candidates not named Donald Trump. Nikki Haley launched her campaign in February by checking all the boxes, and was soon joined by a dozen other also-rans in the race. Most of the GOP candidates relied on Super PAC support in an unprecedented way, and some even resorted to giving away cash in exchange for small dollar donations. None of these tactical decisions panned out for the also-rans: heading into 2024, Trump appears to have the party’s nomination in the bag.
3. The decay of Twitter and the rise of Threads
2023 also brought us the slow and steady decline of Twitter (now X) as the go-to platform for many political operatives and journalists. Although it has remained a somewhat helpful tool for tracking key political moments, its future viability remains in question. At the same time, Instagram’s Threads platform saw explosive early user growth, and now appears to be a place where Twitter refugees can engage regularly.
4. Trump’s off-beat campaign
As his opponents struggled to rise in the polls, Trump’s team has run a somewhat unconventional campaign, mostly relying on earned media and Truth Social to get his message out. His 2024 campaign largely shunned mainstream social media channels and focused on reaching niche audiences to keep his die-hard supporters in line. Trump also translated his legal woes into grassroots fundraising success, rallying his supporters to give him cash around his various indictments.
5. Dark Brandon rises
On the other side of the aisle, Joe Biden successfully launched his re-election campaign with a strong kickoff and steady investments in online fundraising. His administration has focused on reaching Americans in unique ways, and his campaign has developed a strong anti-Trump trolling game.
6. Shady internet things on the Right
Outside of the official campaign side of politics, we also found several shady efforts on the Right this year using social media to reach Americans with conservative messaging. FWIW was able to identify a massive network of pro-Trump Facebook pages that will no doubt have an impact on voters’ attitudes next year, and we exposed a new group on the Right that hides conservative messaging behind flowery language.
7. The Wild West
My biggest takeaway from 2023 is that the political internet is becoming a much more fragmented, less trackable place heading into next year’s elections. In 2020, researchers and journalists had ample tools to investigate the flow of content on major platforms like Facebook or Twitter, and the platforms themselves were generally investing in policies and teams equipped to stem the flow of misinformation. Now, those platforms have changed dramatically, and I fear that the political internet will be a wild, unpredictable place next year.
That’s it for FWIW this year. We’ll be back in your inboxes on January 5th!