“The algorithm won’t push posts that aren’t dramatic enough,” Keller said. “If I want something to go viral, I need to communicate differently.”
Popularity and popular elections
Effects of algorithms can be seen all around the world. In Romania, the 2024 presidential election was annulled due to alleged disinformation on social media platforms. During the 2022 national election campaign in the Philippines, social media played a significant role in the rapid spread of disinformation narratives.
In Germany, social media significantly influenced the 10% increase in votes in the recent election for the far right party Alternative for Germany(AfD) compared to 2021. A notable factor was Elon Musk’s promotion of the AfD on Twitter.
In Switzerland, direct democracy allows citizens to vote directly on laws and policies. This system is a core part of its governance, with frequent referendums and initiatives shaping political decisions.
On average, there are 3-4 national votes per year, which could make the direct democracy even more susceptible to social media than other types of democracies, as people get to vote on smaller issues than presidential elections, which only happen once every four years. This makes the political processes more inclusive.
As online campaigns grow more popular, social media can play a larger role in votes. However, Switzerland still relies heavily on traditional media sources for political news consumption. A recent report by research and consulting firm Publicom AG found that 58% of voters form their opinions through radio, TV or print media. Most of these are neutral and based on the information given by the national news agency SRG. That means there is less polarization.
A generational change
By contrast, only 16% actively turn to social media to establish a viewpoint. However, these numbers may be misleading. The popularity of social media has been on the rise; for instance, in 2017, just 12% of the population sourced their news from these platforms. It is also important to note that the study groups all voters into one category.
When focusing specifically on the younger demographic, aged 15–29, the shift is more pronounced. In this age group, social media usage for news has increased by 11 percentage points since 2020, now reaching 40%.
Despite the significant engagement of young people with news through social media, Switzerland’s democratic system remains largely unaffected. Keller said that the average voter in the country is approximately 55.
While the influence of social media in Switzerland right now may only be marginal, this could change in the future, once these younger generations, which heavily rely on social media for news, enter the political landscape.
Many of the students we go to school with acknowledged that social media shapes their beliefs. “It depends on how reliable the source is,” said one 16-year old who we spoke to. “But if a lot of people say the same thing and if I also hear it on multiple platforms, then I’ll probably start believing it too.”
Positive aspects of social media
A repeated theme seemed to be, appropriately, repetition. Our schoolmates seem to equate repetition with credibility. “I think it could [influence my beliefs], if I see the same information multiple times across multiple platforms,” said one student, aged 15.
Another said that he would question the information he sees but ultimately he would end up believing it. “If I see 10 posts about the CDU [German political party], for example, and they are all positive, I think about what their arguments are, and if they make sense, then yeah, I think I’d believe it,” he said.
So even though it might not be necessary to implement additional regulations regarding the usage of social media in political campaigns right now, it might become necessary in the future as social media continues to grow in importance.
Social media in the political process isn’t all about misinformation. It can also provide a platform for people to discuss political issues, regardless of their party. Keller sees social media as an opportunity.
“I’m more of an optimist than a pessimist,” Keller said.
For example, Keller said, if he wanted to start a referendum campaign, he could post about that and find other people to help organize it. That also allows people the opportunity to communicate directly with politicians.
“Nowadays a lot of them are on social media platforms,” he said. “You can tell them your opinion directly … and sometimes they even reply.”
For more about the power of repetition in news coverage check out this News Decoder Top Tip.
Three questions to consider:
1. How can a single social media post affect an election?
2. What do the authors mean by politicians becoming “personalities”?
3. In what ways are you influenced by what you read or see on social media?