Social media will not��replace traditional campaign methods — political analysts

By Bronte H. Lacsamana����

The use of social media during the new normal is not going to render obsolete��the��traditional methods��of campaigning, political analysts and strategists��said Wednesday.����

Experts��shared��their views in a��forum��on campaign dynamics during the pandemic, which tackled issues of��mis- and dis-information and��varying��levels of Filipinos’ political��participation��amidst shifts in campaign strategies��for��the 2022 elections.����

“The traditional methods still exist, but in so far as national candidates are concerned, they will have to rely less on them,” said Dennis C.��Coronacion, president of the Philippine Political Science Association. “As for modern campaign methods, they can reach a good number of supporters, but depth of engagement��may not��be as good.”����

He attributed��these shifts to constraints��on election campaigns,��which include��physical restrictions discouraging voters to turn up to events��and��travel restrictions limiting the number of public engagements national candidates could have.����

Angelito “Lito” T.��Banayo, political campaign strategist for��presidential aspirant��Francisco “Isko” Moreno��Domagoso, agreed with the need to adjust for the pandemic��but not to the point of relying entirely on social media��due to the lack of access for many.��

“While it’s true that majority of youth is on social media, for senior citizens and people from rural areas,��that’s not true yet,”��he explained. “When you craft a campaign strategy, you have to spread evenly across the population.”��

As for��how to conduct��online engagements, Mr.��Coronacion��added that the new normal will force candidates to “go out of their comfort zones and explore unfamiliar territory,” from getting the services of vloggers, influencers, and��digital-oriented��campaign staff to drawing up communication strategies that utilize the two-way nature of social media.��

A Pulse Asia����conducted in September showed that almost half (48%) of Filipino adults get their political news from the internet.������

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
University of the Philippines Diliman political science professor��Maria Ela L. Atienza��pointed out that��the media, the academe, and other interest groups have to be rigorous in terms of fact-checking and voters’ education.����

Of all the Filipino adults in the Pulse Asia survey who said they got their news from the internet, 44% specified that their source was Facebook, she reminded —��where fake news and extreme polarization have drastically shifted the information landscape.����

She also warned of the challenges that the pandemic itself brings��to the elections: “There’s a real threat��of voting reluctance and��possible��low turnout due to fear of the coronavirus, plus a risk of failure of health protocols.”����

A��global����by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA),��conducted��in countries that had national or subnational elections��in 2020 and 2021,��found that voter turnout increased in 32 countries but declined in 58 countries, with results depending on the health protocols and whether people felt safe.����

Despite this,��pandemic-related issues could push people to��vote, according to Ms. Atienza, particularly citizens��dismayed by the management of the health crisis��who��are��reached by creative local campaigns��sympathetic to their struggles.����

Office of the Vice-President (OVP) spokesman��Ibarra��“Barry” M.��Gutierrez��III shared the approach for Maria Leonor “Leni” G.��Robredo’s presidential campaign, which has found strength among the youth online: “People can be active campaigners within their own spheres. We now just��have to provide them with the tools they need, like online visuals and the appropriate responses.”����

However, he also agreed with Mr.��Banayo’s��sentiment that��age can be a misleading demographic, especially with socioeconomic status playing a major role in access to social media.����

“The��challenge is identifying segments within that broader segment to whom you can target your messages,” he said.��