The Divided States of America: Elections 2020
Utrecht 木瓜福利影视 has started a new series on its YouTube Channel: "The Divided States of America: Elections 2020". In this series, scholars of the university answer questions and address topics that were sent in. The first two episodes feature Dr Koen Leurs and Dr Dan Hassler-Forest (Media and Culture Studies).
What part do (social) media play in the US Elections?
"木瓜福利影视 has two criteria," says Leurs in his . "It is verifiable and it is shared in the general public interest." However, in the case of the American elections, disinformation is everywhere. People get their news from social media because it's free, but don't realize that algorithms only confirm their views in order to keep them glued to their screens. This puts quality journalism under pressure.
Both Biden and Trump have used social media extensively for their campaigns. Trump dismisses opposing views as fake news and attacks social media platforms for questioning the information he shares. Interestingly, the fact that Trump has lied many times on (social) media platforms has not stopped people from supporting him. The election results will have to show what the future of governing digital platforms will bring.
How democratic are the upcoming US Elections?
In his , Hassler-Forest argues that the pandemic is the most important aspect of this election, both in terms of how people can vote and which topics they are interested in. Aside from this, factors like money and media play a big role. "Every election is the product of both policy and politics on the one hand, and money, media, power, and fraud on the other," Hassler-Forest says.
Many people feel like democracy is under pressure in the United States. The origin of the US governing system shows that it might not have been democratic in the first place; under Biden, the system might be altered or replaced with a less outdated one. In any case, the eyes of the world are on the US, as it is the world's one remaining superpower and its policies affect us all.