Sinn Féin’s domination of social media in February’s general election contributed significantly to the party’s stunning success, particularly among younger voters, and it points up an alarming level of complacency or incompetence in the way the other two big parties Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil approached the campaign. Sinn Féin ran a social media onslaught right out of the playbook of Donald Trump or Matteo Salvini, attacking the two mainstream parties as “elitist” and out of touch with the concerns of ordinary people and presenting themselves as the agents of change. It succeeded beyond the party’s wildest dreams as evidenced by the fact that it didn’t run enough candidates to capitalise fully on its support.

Source: The Irish Times June 05, 2020 00:00 UTC