Vice President Kamala Harris been dominating Snapchat in the battle for young voters, partly due to the platform’s refusal to reinstate former President Donald Trump’s personal account while simultaneously begging his campaign to advertise on the platform.
The New York Times reports that former President Donald Trump has completely avoided advertising on Snapchat for his 2024 presidential campaign, effectively surrendering the popular social media platform to his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris. This decision comes despite Trump’s public emphasis on courting younger voters, particularly young men.
According to Snapchat’s disclosures, the Harris campaign has invested over $5.3 million in ads on the platform, while the Trump campaign has not spent a single dollar. The former president’s absence from Snapchat can be attributed to his ongoing feud with the app’s parent company, Snap, which banned his personal account shortly after the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot. Unlike other major tech platforms, Snap has not lifted the ban on Trump’s personal account. The company simultaneously refused to reinstate Trump as it asked his campaign to fork over millions of dollars for advertising.
Snap maintains that while Trump is not allowed to post personally, his campaign is still permitted to purchase political advertisements, which must undergo an internal fact-check process. Despite this, the Trump campaign has refused to spend money on the platform, a stark contrast to his previous campaigns.
Harris has capitalized on this uncontested space, using it to portray herself as a candidate for the future. Her ads feature her campaign theme song, Beyoncé’s “Freedom,” and frame some messages as “back-to-school assignments” to engage college-aged voters.
With the 2024 election looming, both campaigns have ramped up their efforts to reach Gen Z and millennial voters who primarily consume news through social media. Turning out these voters could prove decisive in securing a narrow victory for either candidate.
Digital strategists emphasize the importance of Snapchat as a tool for reaching young Americans interested in politics. The platform boasts over 100 million users in the United States, with roughly 80 percent being 18 or older and eligible to vote. Snapchat also has a higher percentage of users under 30 compared to other major tech apps.
While Snapchat is not the primary battleground for the campaigns’ efforts to win over young voters, with larger investments being made on platforms like Facebook and Google, it remains a significant outlet due to its more personal nature. Users often communicate with friends through the app, making it an ideal space to influence millennial and Gen Z voters.
Read more at the New York Times here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
