Social Media Communication and Elected Leaders' Responsibilities

This essay delves into the evolving relationship between social media and elected leaders, assessing its impact on public communication. It examines whether social media is a suitable forum for elected officials, exploring the potential pitfalls and advantages of its use. The essay analyzes communication strategies, contrasting formal methods like press releases and official websites with the more informal approach of social media. The core of the analysis focuses on the messages and agendas conveyed by President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence on platforms like Facebook and Twitter, identifying recurring themes such as 'fake news,' economic policies, and political events. Furthermore, it discusses the consistency of these messages with official government statements. The essay then evaluates the personal and social responsibilities of elected leaders compared to average social media users, and proposes social media strategies for both Trump and Pence, offering recommendations for reaching beyond their base of supporters. The analysis concludes by providing guidelines for distinguishing between truth and falsehoods in social media, emphasizing the importance of cross-referencing information with mainstream media and verifying sources.

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Social Media and Elected Leaders
Social media has become a crucial means of how people interact with friends and
families irrespective of the geographical distance. Elected leaders in governments have depicted
interest in incorporating the use of social media in conveying information to their followers
(Management Association, Information Resources 20).
Is Social Media a good forum for elected leaders?
Social media is not a good communication forum for elected leaders. As per Van-Tam
and Sellwood (182), social media is regarded as a forum for communication that does not convey
the seriousness of the office that elected leaders hold. In most cases, social media serves as a
career wrecker because it is said that the internet never forgets. It is difficult for people to take
seriously what elected leaders convey in social media. Social media can be used for other
purposes such as campaigns and other friendly information but not serious operations for elected
leaders.
How should they best communicate with the public?
There should be an elevated degree of formality when it comes to elected leaders
communicating with the public. The right communication can be able to persuade the public into
believing that the elected leaders are up to standard (Balutis and Ink 66). Some of the ways in

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which elected leaders can communicate with the public include, press releases. Press releases
enable an elected leader to reach a wider audience with seriousness and with no or little costs.
Through the use of an active website, elected leaders can be able to communicate with the
public. By maintaining an official professional website, elected leaders can get the eye of the
public. Through media communication team, elected leaders can be able to engage the media
outlets of new developments so as to keep their followers up to speed.
What message or agenda are each conveying to “followers?” Discuss three (3) themes for
each official.
When a closer look is taken at the Facebook and Twitter account for President Donald
Trump and his deputy mike pence, there are arrays of the messages which range from issues
affecting Americans and also political messages that are conveyed into their social media
accounts. For President Donald Trump, his Facebook and Twitter accounts convey different
messages for the last two weeks. One of the themes that have taken center stage on Donald
Trump's social media includes, fake news. This is where it is observed that the president
castigates different media for portraying negative information about him, the last being that
Congresswoman Wilson (D) gave wrong information to the media that he did not pay respect to
a fallen soldier. Another theme is the economy where tax cuts have been emphasized. Lastly,
political theme has been eminent where different political happenings are posted.
Vice president Mike Pence’s Facebook and Twitter accounts are rather dull. However,
financial theme has been noted as one of the messages where tax reforms are stressed greatly.
Political theme is also present where it is observed that the vice president seems to be
campaigning for area leaders in different states. Also, the environmental theme seems to take

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center stage as the last tweet suggests that pro-energy, pro-life are part and parcel of the current
regime.
Are they consistent with what’s on their “official” government pages?
The saying that suggests it is easier said than done, or in this case, it is easier posted than
done, makes sense at the moment. All that President Donald Trump and his deputy mike pence
post on social media does not reflect what they are doing in the actual work. They are
advocating for tax reforms, environmental issues, and political issues which are not easy to work
it out.
Do these elected leaders have any more personal or social responsibility to the citizens and
residents of the USA than the average Facebook or Twitter user? Why?
It is true that the elected leaders possess more personal responsibilities and social
responsibilities than an average American who uses social media (Wring, Mortimore and
Atkinson 15). For instance, when it comes to consoling the victims who have endured an attack
such as Las Vegas attack, through warm messages, the elected leaders can use social media to
depict personal responsibilities. When it comes to the issue of gun control, the elected leaders
can lobby for support for states to institute gun control mechanisms in a bid to spar social
change.
If you were the social media advisor to each man, what would suggest for each? Based upon
your “best practices,” are they doing it right? What can each do to try to reach out beyond
their base of supporters/followers?
If I were the social media advisor for, President Donald Trump, I would suggest for him
to refrain from using harsh words to people he may not like. Also, I would advise him to see

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ways in which he can use his social media platform to post-unity messages which depict the
presidency and creates harmony for his supporters and also those who do not support him. For
vice president, Mike Pence the only advice for him is to encourage him to make sure that he
becomes active on social media, as mainstream media alone is not enough. Through being active
on social media, mike pence can be able to address many issues that affect his support base and
those who do not support him.
How would you distinguish between what is truth v what are lies?
The only way to distinguish truth and lies on social media is for one to conduct a research
and see whether the same information is being broadcasted in mainstream media. Also, one
should check the authors of information as renowned authors such as news reporters always
writer factual information.

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Works Cited
Balutis, Alan P., and Dwight Ink. Transforming American Governance: Rebooting The Public
Square. Routledge, 2015. Print.
Management Association, Information Resources. Public Affairs And Administration: Concepts,
Methodologies, Tools, And Applications: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, And
Applications. IGI Global, 2015. Print.
Van-Tam, Jonathan, and Chloe Sellwood. Introduction To Pandemic Influenza. CABI, 2009.
Print.
Wring, Dominic, Roger Mortimore, and Simon Atkinson. Political Communication In Britain:
Polling, Campaigning And Media In The 2015 General Election. Springer, 2016. Print.