Biden SuperPAC Reportedly Ramping Up Social Media Presence

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Facts

  • Pres. Joe Biden’s main re-election super PAC has reportedly raised at least $10M in an effort to compete with former Pres. Donald Trump's robust social media presence, according to an exclusive report from Reuters.1
  • As part of this effort, the Palo Alto, Calif.-based super PAC Future Forward USA Action has reportedly received backing from influential tech industry leaders — including Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz and LinkedIn founder Reed Hoffman.1
  • Efforts have been largely focused on better understanding the algorithms that have helped Trump and his supporters gain massive influence on vertical video platforms TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts.1
  • Biden's campaign has also previously explored partnerships with left-leaning influencers, especially in an effort to court younger 'Gen Z' voters.2
  • Trump joined TikTok in early June and immediately netted millions of followers. Both Trump and Biden have taken tough stances on the app — with Trump attempting, unsuccessfully, to ban it via Executive Action in 2020, and Biden passing a law to force ByteDance to spin TikTok off, which is currently being challenged in court.3
  • This comes as recent polling has shown Biden struggling with Gen Z and millennial voters relative to 2020. Issues including the Gaza conflict, the economy, and immigration were shown as points of concern with these voters in a University of Chicago poll.4

Sources: 1Reuters, 2New York Times, 3USA Today and 4NPR Online News.

Narratives

  • Democratic narrative, as provided by NBC. As social media grows in prominence related to elections, it's important for candidates to devote resources to it. In addition to having a large following on apps, Trump and his allies have seemingly mastered the ability to exploit algorithms to spread disingenuous information. Biden and his supporters will be wise to counter this as best they can in the months ahead.
  • Republican narrative, as provided by American Conservative. Trump's patriotism and authenticity inspire wide-ranging grassroots support, which he and his allies have turned into a strong social media following. Biden and the Democrats may think they can buy their way into defeating Trump in this realm, but alas they'll just be wasting their money and resources against the Trump juggernaut. Biden doesn't have what it takes to hold sway with younger voters.

Predictions