Can a Politician\u27s Platform Understand Systemic Racism in 280 Characters ... or Less?

The use of social media has shaped the landscape of how voters use and intake media. Social media services like Twitter give political platforms to issues that are traditionally ignored by mainstream televised media. Social media movements such as #BlackLivesMatter gained traction through Twitter user’s activism that lacked mainstream media recognition. Recognizing the power of Twitter as a political tool, every candidate on the debate stage in the 2020 Democratic primary has held a Twitter presence to convey the ideas on their platform. In the research, Twitter is used as a political data tool to better understand how the interactions of a candidate\u27s Twitter platform reflect how the candidate prioritizes issues within their platform. Furthermore, the research goes to suggest how candidates\u27 future use of social media can be a reflection of winning (and losing!) political platforms