E ISSN
THE POWER OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN POLITICAL CAMPAIGN: AN ANALYSIS OF MALAYSIA’S GE 15
Abstract
This research explores the transformative impact of social media on political campaigns, particularly in the context of Malaysia’s 15th General Election (GE15). Social media platforms as a political campaigning tool highlight its influence on young voters and their perceptions of political figures. In addition, social media has revolutionized the dynamics of political engagement, it has also introduced challenges such as the spread of misinformation, hate speech, and unequal access among political parties. This research applied a qualitative method by comparing various literatures. Leveraging The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), this study aims to analyze how social media influences election outcomes and shape public opinion. The findings reveal that social media played a significant role in GE15, with candidates strategically utilizing platforms like Facebook and TikTok to engage voters, especially the youth demographic. Ultimately, social media not only serves as a battleground for public discourse but also shapes the political landscape by reaching out to digital natives and first-time voters who rely on social media for news and information. This research contributes to the understanding of digital campaign dynamics by demonstrating how the perceived ease of use and usefulness of social media influence political campaigning. It underscores the critical role of technological acceptance in the adoption of new media strategies by political actors. By applying TAM, this study provides valuable insights into the power of social media in modern political campaigns, offering practical recommendations for political strategists and parties aiming to enhance their digital engagement and campaign effectiveness in future elections.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Abid, A., Roy, S. K., Lees-Marshment, J., Dey, B. L., Muhammad, S. S., & Kumar, S. (2023). Political social media marketing: a systematic literature review and agenda for future research. Springer Link. Retrieved May 30, 2024, from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10660-022-09636-7
Adli Rosli, A. (2023, February 3). Online Political Campaigning During Malaysia’s GE15: Blurred Lines | FULCRUM. Fulcrum. sg. Retrieved May 30, 2024, from https://fulcrum.sg/online-political-campaigning-during-malaysias-ge15-blurred-lines/
Alodat, A. M. (2023). Social Media Platforms and Political Participation: A Study of Jordanian Youth Engagement. MDPI. Retrieved May 30, 2024, from https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/12/7/402
Amenyeawu, B. E. (2021). Social Media and Political Campaign Communication in Ghana. Clark Digital Commons. Clarku. Retrieved May 30, 2024, from https://commons.clarku.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1078&context=sps_masters_papers
Azwar, A., & Kho, S. (2022). Factors Influencing Young Malaysians’ Political Information Seeking Behaviour on Twitter. Jurnal Komunikasi: Malaysian Journal of Communication. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17576/jkmjc-2022-3803-06.
Baker, A. (2022). Malaysia GE15: Social media emerges as a new battleground as parties woo youth votes. CNA. Retrieved May 30, 2024, from https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/malaysia-general-election-social-media-youth-voters-3080376
Bright, J., Hale, S., Ganesh, B., Bulovsky, A., Margetts, H., & Howard, P. (2017). Does Campaigning on Social Media Make a Difference? Evidence From Candidate Use of Twitter During the 2015 and 2017 U.K. Elections. Communication Research, 47, 1009 - 988. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650219872394.
Destiana, I., & Salman, A. (2015). The Acceptance, Usage And Impact Of Social Media Among University Students Ika Destiana & Ali Salman ABSTRACT The emergence. - UKM Journal Article Repository. Retrieved May 30, 2024, from http://journalarticle.ukm.my/9349/1/058-065_Social_Media_Impact-Ika.pdf
Dimitrova, D., & Matthes, J. (2018). (PDF) Social Media in Political Campaigning Around the World: Theoretical and Methodological Challenges. ResearchGate. Retrieved May 30, 2024, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325517001_Social_Media_in_Political_Campaigning_Around_the_World_Theoretical_and_Methodological_Challenges
Dutot, V. (2021). (PDF) Adoption of Social Media Using Technology Acceptance Model: The Generational Effect. ResearchGate. Retrieved May 30, 2024, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286031386_Adoption_of_Social_Media_Using_Technology_Acceptance_Model_The_Generational_Effect
Finucane, B. (2022). Social media for political campaigns. Ecanvasser. Retrieved May 30, 2024, from https://www.ecanvasser.com/blog/social-media-as-an-aid-to-campaigns
Guo, L. (2023). Social Media and Malaysia’s 2022 Election: The Growth and Impact of Video Campaigning | Pacific Affairs (UBC Journal). Pacific Affairs. Retrieved May 30, 2024, from https://pacificaffairs.ubc.ca/perspectives/social-media-and-malaysias-2022-election-the-growth-and-impact-of-video-campaigning/
Garrett, R. (2019). Social media’s contribution to political misperceptions in U.S. Presidential elections. PLoS ONE, 14. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0213500.
Gilardi, F., Gessler, T., Kubli, M., & Müller, S. (2021). Social Media and Political Agenda Setting. Political Communication, 39, 39 - 60. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2021.1910390.
Hamid, N. N. B. A., & Rahman, S. A. (2018). Impact of Social Media on Malaysia’s Election Landscape. International. Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 8(9), 275–284.
Hamzah, M., Naidu, W., Fong, L. S., Naidu D., & Balachandar, D. (2023). Social Media Monitoring of Malaysia’s 15th General Elections. Kuala Lumpur: Centre for Independent Journalism Malaysia.
Hassan, M., Ridzuan, A., A’zmi, A., Chaniago, R., & Allam, S. (2021). Social Media Use and Political Efficacy: Structural Effect of the Voting Decision of New Voters. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences. DOI: https://doi.org/10.6007/ijarbss/v11-i6/10205.
Hong, S., & Nadler, D. (2012). Which candidates do the public discuss online in an election campaign?: The use of social media by 2012 presidential candidates and its impact on candidate salience. Gov. Inf. Q., 29, 455-461. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2012.06.004.
Hook, K., & Verdeja, E. (2022). Social Media Misinformation and the Prevention of Political Instability and Mass Atrocities. Stimson Center. Retrieved May 30, 2024, from https://www.stimson.org/2022/social-media-misinformation-and-the-prevention-of-political-instability-and-mass-atrocities/
Johnson, T. J., & Kaye, B. K. (2023). Credibility of Social Network Sites for Political Information Among Politically Interested Internet Users. OUP. Retrieved May 30, 2024, from https://academic.oup.com/jcmc/article/19/4/957/4067608
Kreiss, D., & McGregor, S. (2018). Technology Firms Shape Political Communication: The Work of Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter, and Google With Campaigns During the 2016 U.S. Presidential Cycle. Political Communication, 35, 155 - 177. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2017.1364814.
Lam, B., Cheung, M., & Lo, W. (2021). What matters most in the responses to political campaign posts on social media: The candidate, message frame, or message format?. Comput. Hum. Behav., 121, 106800. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/J.CHB.2021.106800.
Md Subre, N. S., Abdul Aziz, A., & Abdul Latif, D. I. (2023). The Use of TikTok Among Millennials During General Election 15 (GE15) Campaign. Journal of Media and Information Warfare. Retrieved May 30, 2024, from https://jmiw.uitm.edu.my/images/Journal/Vol16No1/Article5.pdf
Mohamad, M., & Suffian, I. (2023). 2023/20 “Malaysia’s 15th General Election: Ethnicity Remains the Key Factor in Voter Preferences” by Marzuki Mohamad and Ibrahim Suffian. ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute. Retrieved June 7, 2024, from https://www.iseas.edu.sg/articles-commentaries/iseas-perspective/2023-20-malaysias-15th-general-election-ethnicity-remains-the-key-factor-in-voter-preferences-by-marzuki-mohamad-and-ibrahim-suffian/
Mohd Salleh, N. H. (2022). The TikTok factor in GE15 | MalaysiaNow. Malaysia Now. Retrieved May 30, 2024, from https://www.malaysianow.com/news/2022/11/27/the-tiktok-factor-in-ge15
Momeni, M. (2017). Social media and political participation. New Media & Society, 19, 2094-2100. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444817728054.
Murayama, T., Matsui, A., Miyazaki, K., Matsubara, Y., & Sakurai, Y. (2023). The Chance of Winning Election Impacts on Social Media Strategy. ArXiv, abs/2301.07282. DOI: https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2301.07282.
Nulty, P., Theocharis, Y., Popa, S., Parnet, O., & Benoit, K. (2016). Social media and political communication in the 2014 elections to the European Parliament. Electoral Studies, 44, 429-444. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ELECTSTUD.2016.04.014.
Olaniran, B., & Williams, I. (2020). Social Media Effects: Hijacking Democracy and Civility in Civic Engagement. NCBI. Retrieved May 30, 2024, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7343248/
Palfrey, J. (2023). Integrating the technology acceptance model for social media-based learning with authentic leadership development: symmetric and asymmetric modelling. NCBI. Retrieved May 30, 2024, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10679347/
Petrova, M., Sen, A., & Yildirim, P. (2020). Social Media and Political Contributions: The Impact of New Technology on Political Competition. ERN: Technology (Topic). DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2836323.
Qin, A. N. Z., Yee, A. J. F., Yee, C. W., Yee, L. M., & Maniam, N. (2023). SOCIAL MEDIA AS A SOURCE OF POLITICAL INFORMATION: FIRST-TIME VOTERS AND THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON POLITICAL INTEREST ALI. UTAR Institutional Repository. http://eprints.utar.edu.my/5803/1/fyp_PR_2023_ANZQ.pdf
Rainier, R., Rawski, G., Yang, J., & Johnson, B. (2023). Technology acceptance model (TAM) and social media usage: an empirical study on Facebook. Emerald Insight. Retrieved May 30, 2024, from https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JEIM-04-2012-0011/full/html
Saleem, S. (2022). Malaysia 2022: 15th general elections and deepening political polarisation. Asia Maior. Retrieved June 7, 2024, from https://www.asiamaior.org/the-journal/asia-maior-vol-xxxiii-2022/malaysia-2022-15th-general-elections-and-deepening-political-polarisation.html
Stier, S., Bleier, A., Lietz, H., & Strohmaier, M. (2018). Election Campaigning on Social Media: Politicians, Audiences, and the Mediation of Political Communication on Facebook and Twitter. Political Communication, 35, 50 - 74. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2017.1334728.
Spierings, N., & Jacobs, K. (2014). Getting Personal? The Impact of Social Media on Preferential Voting. Political Behavior, 36, 215-234. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/S11109-013-9228-2.
Tapsell, R. (2020). Social Media and Elections in Southeast Asia: The Emergence of Subversive, Underground Campaigning. Asian Studies Review, 45, 117 - 134. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10357823.2020.1841093.
Tapsell, R. (2023). Social Media and Malaysia’s 2022 Election: The Growth and Impact of Video Campaigning. Australian National University (College of Asia and the Pacific). Retrieved May 30, 2024, from https://researchprofiles.anu.edu.au/en/publications/social-media-and-malaysias-2022-election-the-growth-and-impact-of
Tan, J. (2022). Social Media Political Information Use and Voting Behavior of the Malaysian Youth. Malaysian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities (MJSSH). DOI: https://doi.org/10.47405/mjssh.v7i9.1725.
Tapsell, R. (2023). Social Media and Malaysia’s 2022 Election: The Growth and Impact of Video Campaigning. Pacific Affairs. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5509/2023962303.
Ting, C. S. W. (2023). POLITICAL INFORMATION ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND ITS IMPACT ON FIRST-TIME VOTERS AMONG MALAYSIAN YOUTH. Wikipedia. Retrieved May 15, 2024, from http://eprints.utar.edu.my/6128/1/Christine_Soon_Wei_Ting_2100204.pdf
Yaraghi, N. (2019). How should social media platforms combat misinformation and hate speech? Brookings. Brookings Institution. Retrieved May 30, 2024, from https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-should-social-media-platforms-combat-misinformation-and-hate-speech/
Zuliha, S., & Hani, M. (2022). “If there is a Declaration of War, We Welcome the War”: Undi-18, TikTok Election and Normalisation of Violence. Journal of Strategic Studies & International Affairs. DOI: https://doi.org/10.17576/sinergi.0202.2022.08.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24198/jwp.v10i1.56619
Copyright (c) 2025 AINI FAEZAH RAMLAN
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
JWP (Jurnal Wacana Politik) Indexed By:
21.png)
Published By:
Departement of Political Science
Campus of Faculty of Social and Political Science
Universitas Padjajaran, Building D, 2nd floor
Jl. Raya Sumedang Km.21, Jatinangor, Sumedang
Creation is distributed below Lisensi Creative Commons Atribusi 4.0 Internasional.