In 2009, Donald Trump was advised by his marketing staff to create a Twitter account to help increase sales for his new book “Think Like a Champion.” Of course he agreed, with the promise of boosting book sales too irresistible an opportunity to turn down, and on May 4th 2009, his first tweet was published. Who could have predicted what exactly the birth of his Twitter account would eventually morph into, 8 years on?

Through years of countless scandals, and aggressive, controversial, CAPS LOCK filled tweets, Trump has unconventionally propelled himself to the most prestigious and powerful job in the world, building a previously untapped group of fierce supporters who view him as their true leader and saviour of America. It is, undoubtedly, a remarkable achievement, and indeed has led to a seemingly indestructible cult of personality. No matter how many times he commits what seems to surely be political suicide, he returns, almost completely unscathed, rejecting any criticism as “fake” in an unfathomably effective fashion.

44% of Americans get their news from Facebook and 14% of Americans consider Social Media to be their “most important” source of news information. This growing social media landscape means that the strategy of using online platforms to inject particular ideas, conspiracy theories, rumours and outright falsities directly into the lives of followers with no media filter or fact checking system allows for a culture of mass misinformation.

The benefit for Trump of Tweeting so prolifically, is that, unlike a traditional press conference, he doesn’t need to justify his tweets or support them with facts. Instead of having journalists pressing him to explain any outlandish statements that he makes, his Tweets are simply dropped onto his followers and then picked up by news and media organisations everywhere.

When he posts on social media, the mainstream press look to debunk and/or debate the post which inevitably makes it into the mainstream news cycle. The stories will then be circulated on social media again, which helps build momentum and generates further discussion in what is called a “feedback loop”. If the original posts are factually incorrect, there leads to a greater chance of more voters being misled into believing these falsehoods, especially when regurgitated in the media and online.

Whether the original post was true or not, the resultant coverage contesting and debating it has spread the message and done its intended job. His supporter base laps it up and his detractors unintentionally help to promote it. It is the ultimate political weapon.

Stunningly, 75% of  American adults who see false news stories, believe them, and boosted by the fiercely fought and vitriolic 2016 election campaign, this number seems certain to keep growing, especially with Trump at the helm of the country. Chris Jackson of Ipsos Public Affairs, who conducted the survey explained:

“The 2016 election may mark the point in modern political history when information and disinformation became a dominant electoral currency. Public opinion, as reflected in this survey, showed that ‘fake news’ was remembered by a significant portion of the electorate and those stories were seen as credible.”

The emergence of this trend of disinformation online is buoyed by a fragile, highly partisan political climate where facts do not matter as long as the political fight is won. Where facts are irrelevant, emotion reigns supreme, and tapping into people’s high emotions online has proved a recipe for success.

Whatever he says, despite the truth, his followers have have become the victim of their own confirmation bias and the messages he sends out only serves to strengthen their existing convictions.

His presence on social media is something that seems to destroy him and regenerate him in the exact same moment. The question is, how much longer can the very thing that put him in this position, keep him there, and what will happen when he tweets the wrong thing for the very last time?

While Franklin D Roosevelt was the first “radio President”, John F Kennedy the first “television President” and Obama the first “Internet President”, Donald Trump has, somehow, become the first “Social Media President”. He has paved the way for future politicians or personalities to seize the sizeable opportunity that social media can offer to gain power without being held accountable for the things they tweet. Future Presidential candidates have the perfect blueprint on how to gain free media attention and spread messages – true or false – to a huge number of people online. While it may be beneficial to them, it will remain a problem for the general public, and highlights the absolute necessity to remain aware and alert to the dangers of fake news online, especially in Trump’s Social Media Presidency.

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