The impact of political memes on the US Presidential race
Presidential campaigns utilize a variety of tactics to get their message across to voters.
Scrolling through social media, you’ve likely come across Vice President Kamala Harris's 'coconut tree' video.
This internet phenomenon is cracking open a conversation about memes and their impact on politics, especially with younger demographics.
The Harris campaign has embraced the viral moment and is turning it into a potential tool to get young voters to the polls.
“Because memes are most commonly consumed by young people they might be this mode of engagement that older voters are not in," said Nicholas Napolio, Professor of Political Science at UC Riverside. "So it can be a tool of political engagement.”
According to Napolio, this is part to a greater effort to bridge younger demographics with older political institutions, as young voters make up a large block of voters that could determine who wins the election.
“I think there’s a concerted effort on the part of the Democratic Party now to lure younger voters and I think it was hard for them to do that with Biden because of his age…”commented Napolio.
News Channel 3's Luis Avila also spoke to students at College of the Desert, who have mixed opinions on this tactic and its effect.
“They’re trying to relate to us, get us to vote. So this is a good strategy I would say because they know that memes really get to the youth," one College of the Desert student said. "So making us go out and learn more about them with these memes.”
Other COD students say the campaign is trying too hard, stating, "[The younger demographic] might see it as weird especially with like newer generations like myself who is going to vote this year it is kind of weird like seeing how they, who are significantly older, trying to reach out to us.”
This latest online spectacle has shown just how influential social media can be on political discourse. With the presidential election still months away, it is still too early to know how this could impact the results.
“People’s memories, especially when it comes to politics tends to be pretty short," Napolio says. "We still have several months until the election so something new will happen that could replace the coconut meme.”
Stay with News Channel 3 for more upcoming coverage of the presidential election.
