Social Media, Campaign Finance, and Democracy: Does the Use of Twitter Help Raise Political Money?

Abstract

Many researchers have assumed that social media will reduce inequalities between elite politicians and those outside the political mainstream and thus benefit democracy, as it circumvents the traditional media that focus too much on a few elite politicians. I test this assumption by investigating the association between U.S. Representatives using Twitter and their fundraising. Evidence suggests that (1) politicians’ social media adoptions have yielded increased donations from outside their constituencies but little from their own constituencies, (2) politicians with extreme ideologies tend to benefit more from their social media adoptions, and (3) the political use of social media may yield increased inter-candidate resource inequality. Finally, I discuss the implications of these findings for political equality, polarization, and democracy.