2024 elections meet social media – How local governments can stay ahead

Social media is a critical aspect of the 2024 election in different ways from years prior. This is due to younger generation voters engaging on platforms like X, Instagram and TikTok, and with half of all U.S. adults saying they at least sometimes get news via social media, according to a 2023 Pew Research Center survey.

Social media is a tool that can shape public perception, and if done correctly, it can be a source of truth. However, social media also can be used to spread misinformation, which can lead to distrust between a government and its residents. Residents seek the ability to discern fact from fiction, and governments have a unique opportunity to adopt robust social media strategies that enable them to effectively manage their platforms in a way that promotes truth and transparency. In this election cycle, we are witnessing a tipping point—social media will likely hold a heavier influence on government elections now and into the future, meaning state and local governments may need a strategy reset. 

Best practices for building trust through social media
Social media can be an impactful way to increase interaction and engagement with residents—especially during election time when governments are aiming to increase voter participation. It’s critical for governments to make their presence known, and intentionally engage with their residents to build a high level of trust. Engaged residents are active residents and social media should be managed in a way that feels responsive and open.

On the other hand, social media should be used to dispel misinformation, provide access to the truth and give members of the community a platform they can use to fact check information themselves. This means that ensuring public records compliance, creating dedicated platforms, and maintaining content authenticity to engage communities and combat misinformation are all at the root of an effective social media strategy for local governments. So, how do local governments activate on this? Here’s a social media strategy guide to follow:

1. Educate residents: As misinformation continues to flood resident social media timelines, they need help avoiding it and knowing what’s First, local governments should ensure that residents are educated about what misinformation is. If residents know what to look for, they can also help in the goal of decreasing the amount of misinformation on social platforms. Local governments can easily disseminate this information via their social media channels, acting as a source of truth.

   Additionally, governments can empower residents by hosting platforms they can utilize to fact check sources on social media themselves. This can come in the form of a website or app where residents can copy links directly from social media, like articles or posts and verify whether or not the news is valid.

2. Deeply understand and follow public records laws: Governments must put accurate record keeping at the top of their to do list, especially during election season. Public record requests are increasing, and while some may not know, social media posts are considered public records. With the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and record laws throughout the U.S., residents are granted access to a large amount of information and records from the government.

   To help with this, governments should make sure they’re leveraging social media archiving technology, which will make sure they’re remaining compliant with all laws and can respond to all requests. This creates greater transparency around all local government communications and assures residents they can trust and rely on information across all government channels. 

3. Ensure your content is accurate and credible: Misinformation on social media is now coming in many forms—like artificial intelligence (AI)-modified photos and deepfake videos—and are not always just a simple written post that presents non-factual information. According to Pew Research data, Americans are starting to trust information they see on social media sites just as much as they do from news organizations, which is why it’s so crucial that governments ensure the content they’re providing is accurate.

   While social media archiving is one avenue for ensuring information remains authentic, it’s also important to have a clear process for consistent monitoring and reviewing of social media posts. This review process can include a fact checking step before anything is posted to social media, linking to sources where it makes sense, and never responding to or reporting anything before checking its authenticity.

 The critical role of social media and government action during election season
Social media is becoming a central component of this year’s election, and while it’s inevitable that it will make an impact, state and local governments can help control whether or not it’s a positive one.

These governments need to ensure their residents are digesting factual and beneficial information, and that starts with providing residents with the right tools to fact check, leveraging social media archiving tools, and setting clear social media practices internally. Election season can be hard for governments—but they can make it easier for residents.

CivicPlus Vice President and General Manager Eric Grant works with our agenda and meeting management, municode codification and social media archiving solutions. Grant helps CivicPlus fulfill our mission of making government work better by collaborating with our product, sales and marketing teams to ensure our solutions are meeting the needs of local governments. Prior to joining CivicPlus, Grant served as the president and CEO of Municipal Code Corp. He also served as a United States Marine in the First Tank Battalion in 29 Palms, Calif. Grant and his family live in Tallahassee, Fla.