How Social Media Changed Elections

A new methods of connectedness emerging.

Perhaps you've heard rumors of how social media is replacing traditional news forums. I'm a serious online news person, I live online, but even for me, the idea of social media as the way of the future seemed ridiculous. Until July 2013.

Cambodia ranks very low on freedom of expression. The government controls most of the Khmer language newspapers and TV stations and tightly restricts publication. When major opposition leader San Rainsy returned from exile, tens of thousands of people flooded the streets blocking major city roads, throwing Phnom Penh into hysteria. Instead of reporting on this massive news story, the news channels played cooking shows and music videos, immune to the reality that the political balance of power was in jeopardy. 

With TV and print locked down, smaller voices must find alternative methods of spreading messages. In the internet age, this is amazingly possible. The Cambodian opposition quickly realized the potential and popularity of Facebook. The ruling party for whatever reason hasn't learned to leverage this tool the same way. Much has been written about the role of Twitter in the Arab Spring. Twitter hasn’t caught on in Cambodia. However, Facebook is by far the most popular website and people use it avidly, particular youth. Major events are shared in real-time; photos, videos, articles and others. 

The elections saw Facebook take off in a shocking way and promoting massive civic engagement. Cambodians were excellent photographing “irregularities” and sharing these images online. Eventually, I learned which feeds to follow and I learned about events and movements that would otherwise have gone unreported. I started logging into Twitter's #electionkh daily to get the scoop. Deliberately searching out news online via social media still feels foreign, but I'm amazed by this possibility. 

Someone pointed out that news from social media isn’t impartial; that it comes unverified with biases. There is merit to this criticism  The internet is full of crazies with uncorroborated stories, like that guy on that website who tells you that that aliens have infiltrated your vacuum cleaner. Formal journalism is vetted and researched for validity, which can’t be said of the guy who posts on Twitter (or even me as a blogger).

However, in a country where the scales are so overwhelmingly tipped in the favor of a single party, you have no option but to collect whatever information possible from whatever sources. You must take government news with a grain of salt. You take social media news with a grain of salt. Somewhere in there, the truth is probably still missing, but at least you know the rumors.