In 2016, the election of smartphones, live video streaming and big data, traditional opposition research isn’t going to cut it.
That’s the idea behind Shield Political Research, a new opposition research firm highlighted by Taegan Goddard. The firm will analyze political staffers’ online media presence for offensive comments or other potential red flags.
“Many of the men and women who will staff and lead campaigns this cycle are from a generation in which virtually their entire adult lives — for better or worse — are reflected on social media accounts,” Shield’s website says. “Shield will examine these social media accounts — Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, among other sites — and flag any potential sources of trouble, including questionable photos, comments, tweets, ‘likes’ or followed feeds.”
The website claims the company will use “triangulation” and “social web analysis” to find current and archived information that wouldn’t come up in a simple search.
By holding staffers accountable for their social media activity — especially activity dating back almost a decade — Shield could have a huge impact on the 2016 election and the makeup of politicians’ teams. Only one candidate has officially launched a campaign and already a number of staffers have been publicly shamed and removed from their jobs for their social media activity.
Last month, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s digital strategist resigned after controversy erupted over a series of Tweets she made criticizing Iowa and its frontrunner position in presidential elections. “The tone of some of my tweets concerning Iowa was at odds with that which Gov. Walker has always encouraged in political discourse,” Mair said in a statement to the AP.
And in February, Ethan Czahor, who had just been hired as chief technology officer for Jeb Bush’s political action committee, resigned after his Twitter and blog posts drew criticism. Buzzfeed reported that he had deleted old tweets dating back to 2009 in which he called women “sluts” and made offensive comments about gay men at the gym.
Former Rep. Aaron Schock (R-IL)’s senior adviser also resigned in February after ThinkProgress reported on a series of social media posts he made in which he compared African Americans to zoo animals and called for the gentrification of his neighborhood.
And an aide to likely presidential candidate Ben Carson deleted his Twitter account after Buzzfeed uncovered a series of offensive comments including one about President Obama.