There is something elusive about the presidential campaign. With the Covid-19 epidemic and then the Russian invasion in Ukraine, the methods have evolved: this year, few tracts, fewer meetings, fewer direct exchanges between candidates and citizens… At just under forty days of the first round, the ballot still fails to capture public opinion. How can politicians reverse the trend and interest the French? The answer is, they believe, on the Internet.
The parties have therefore decided to invest in social networks and streaming platforms. This goes as much by creating videos on TikTok or feeding a Facebook page as by participating in videos shot by the influencer Magali Berdah or creating shows on Twitch (platform originally devoted to video games). Activists occupy “spaces” on Twitter, where one can discuss in person. The leaders of the “response cells” create message loops on Telegram or WhatsApp to water their troops with speeches ready to post on the networks. The objective: to reach a young public with little interest in politics. Either do virtually what activists once did concretely: debate, convince and get people to vote. Social networks appear as so many grounds where political contests are conducted.
The “spaces”, a “militant training tool”
Each of these bubbles of politicization corresponds to a particular universe, which has its own grammar, its own codes and its own public. For example, the Facebook juggernaut appeals to an older audience, when TikTok reigns among the youngest. Sometimes the networks even have political colorings. Thus the far right is very present on Telegram and on the 18-25 forum of Jeuxvideo.com, when Twitch leans to the left. It also happens that a network is occupied by different political families. This is the case with YouTube. On the left, videographers like Usul are much watched by militant circles. This video columnist for Mediapart since 2016 brings together a number of views that regularly exceeds 300,000. At the opposite end of the political spectrum, the videos of certain far-right figures like Papacito also have several hundred thousand views.
One of the novelties of this presidential campaign is the appearance of “spaces” on Twitter. Originally a microblogging site where you had to write your thoughts in 140 then in 280 characters, the blue bird social network recently underwent a small revolution. Taking as a model Clubhouse, a short-lived network where people created “rooms” for thematic discussions, Twitter launched its “lounges” in the fall. They were immediately adopted by the militant world, which organizes debates on almost all subjects. With the presidential campaign, the discussions are more numerous, especially on the left, where there is opposition both about the popular Primary and the statements of the communist Fabien Roussel on his taste for meat. The far right also converted to it: Monday, February 21, Eric Zemmour answered questions from “twittos”. Over 11,000 attendees listened live to the former Figaro.
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