Veronica Rin is uneasy with her fellow students’ reliance on online material, like memes and the content created by presidential candidates, to make important political decisions leading up to November’s presidential election.
“[Social media] is crafted in a way that’s supposed to entice a consumer,” said Rin, a junior communications studies major. “It’s very manipulative.”
Kamala Harris and Donald Trump will be in Philadelphia on Sept. 10 for their first presidential debate on ABC. As crucial as debates should be for the presidential election, their ratings have fallen in recent years, CBS reported.
It’s important to formulate opinions based on reliable news sources, a candidate’s policy promises and their debate responses, instead of the post-debate material posted by campaigns or partisan outlets. Students should be wary of the possible parody or biased posting from a campaign’s social media page that will be posted after the debate.
“There’s a lot of ‘Oh look at this one thing that I’ve done that’s really awesome. And we’re not going to talk about the other really suspicious things I’ve done before.’ That’s something I’ve noticed,” Rin said.
With the debate approaching, students should listen to what the candidates propose and cast their votes based on whomever best reflects their hopes for the future of America’s democracy. It’s paramount that students step outside of the digital realm and seek factual reporting through outlets who have effectively covered the debate, like Axios and the Associated Press, instead of relying on biased posts by presidential candidates.
Following previous debate performances, both parties posted comedic content or arrogant proclamations of victory on their respective social media platforms. Soon after a fly landed on Mike Pence in 2020, Joe Biden posted a picture on X with a fly swatter and a donation link.
After Trump’s first debate with Biden this year, he posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, that every crew member in attendance praised him for the greatest debate performance in American history. These posts went viral, allowing comedic and inaccurate posts to shape voters’ opinions instead of pursuing information on the candidates’ political stances.
Debates should serve as a way for citizens to test the reliability of their candidates. They should not be vessels for the next derogatory or humorous campaign post to garner donations. Relying solely on the information given by the candidates could prove dangerous as election day approaches.
Ralph Young notices the gradual shift of focus in campaign strategies and the decline in noble presidential debates. He believes that superficial social media strategies could prevent candidates from relaying their agenda to the American public.
“Everything is about image, whether it’s on television or on the internet,” said Young, a history professor. “We don’t present the president, we don’t have debates really discussing issues. We are selling the president.”
Important issues are on the ballot in November’s fast-approaching election. Things like reproductive rights, the economy and education are the biggest concerns for Temple students, according to an August 2024 poll conducted by The Temple News.
More than 40% of voters between the ages of 18-29 prioritize abortion on the ballot and 21% care most about inflation, according to the Center for Information and Research on Civil Learning and Engagement. Only 27% of young voters cast their vote during the 2022 midterm elections, according to exit poll data from CIRCLE.
With young voters feeling strongly about both economic and social issues, being attentive and critical during a presidential debate can guide their decisions on the ballot and increase young voter turnout.
“Kennedy and Nixon debates had something to do with substance,” Young said. “But almost all of the debates since then have not dealt with substance at all. It’s really purely about image. HL Mencken said that nobody ever lost money betting on the stupidity of Americans, because they believe everything that politicians and advertisers tell them.”
Following the debate on Sept. 10, posts from both parties will likely surface, either degrading or mocking a mistake made by their opponent. Due to the inevitable bias, students and prospective voters should be critical of the content posted by a candidate’s campaign. It’s difficult to gather a nuanced opinion of a politician without hearing how they engage with pressing issues or if they can have civil conversations with their opponents.
Media outlets and other outside networks, like FactCheck.org also review false claims made by each candidate to keep citizens fully informed. Students should watch the debate and do research afterward to test false claims or see what they may have missed.
Tyler Brown understands the current lean toward social media and degrading humor for campaign marketing but believes the pursuit of factual information should be the most important for voters.
“[Social media] should be something that makes you, maybe motivates you to think about your more serious political views and be like, a substitute for them,” said Brown, a first-year secondary education graduate student. “Try to branch out and find a serious source.”
Even if debate banter devolves into malicious attacks on character, they serve as a way for the American public to get a glimpse into the inner workings of American democracy.
Amidst this heightened political friction, it’s important for students to form opinions based on the candidate they believe will most benefit American democracy. The best way to do this is to listen to debates, watch interviews with the candidates and see how they converse about the issues they’re passionate about.
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