THE EVOLUTION OF SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCE IN U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS: A LONGITUDINAL ANALYSIS FROM 2008 TO 2024
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55829/skpjcx43Keywords:
social media, U.S. elections, digital political communication, misinformation, algorithmic persuasion, influencer politics, AI content, polarization, voter behaviourAbstract
Social media has transformed political communication and voter engagement over the past sixteen years. This study examines the evolving role of social media across five U.S. presidential elections from 2008 to 2024, analysing how digital platforms shifted from tools of grassroots mobilization to mechanisms of algorithmic persuasion, misinformation amplification, influencer politics, and AI-driven content manipulation. Using a qualitative longitudinal comparative case study approach, the research synthesizes secondary data from academic literature, platform analytics, policy reports, and media sources. Findings reveal a progression from participatory civic engagement in 2008 and 2012 to emotionally polarized digital warfare in 2016, crisis-mediated regulatory tension in 2020, and influencer- and AI-dominated short-video persuasion ecosystems in 2024. The study concludes that social media has restructured political behaviour, weakened rational deliberation, intensified polarization, and redistributed political power from institutional actors to digital platforms and influencers, posing critical challenges to democratic integrity.
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