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Florida student passes NRA in Twitter followers

Students who survived high-school shooting use social media to push for new gun laws, pressure Amazon and FedEx.

By JASON SCHWARTZ
02/27/2018 11:46 AM EST

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student Emma González now has more than a million Twitter followers, more than both the National Rifle Association and its spokesperson Dana Loesch, as González and her fellow students continue to use the platform to drive attention to their cause.

It's now been nearly two weeks since the attack in Parkland and—in a break from the usual grim routine of mass shooting coverage—it continues to dominate the news. One big reason for that has been savvy social media use by González, who first tweeted from her account on Feb 18, and her fellow students, several of whom have also amassed large Twitter followings. As of Tuesday morning, David Hogg had 352,000 followers, Cameron Kasky 240,000 and Sarah Chadwick 237,000. All of those accounts appear to be rapidly gaining users by the thousands, as all four students push their campaign for stronger gun laws.

The students’ movement has helped keep the issue of school shootings and guns in the headlines for almost two weeks. Now, the key question facing them is whether, as time marches on and the cameras leave Parkland, they will still be able to command the nation's attention.

Not on their own, according to Daniel Kreiss, a professor at the University of North Carolina's school of journalism who has studied politics and new media. "What we know is that periods of sustained mass media attention are more likely to result in policy changes," he said in an email. "What I suspect is that the Parkland student's Twitter followings will be influential if they can leverage them for journalistic, mass media attention."

Facebook can be an excellent tool for organizing he said, but Twitter less so. He added that messages on Twitter are more likely to reach activists and partisans. To reach a more general audience and move policy, the students will need to find a way to keep big outlets interested in the gun debate. "At best, I think, Twitter can help set the agenda for the professional press," Kreiss said.

Georgetown professor Leticia Bode, who also specializes in political communications and new media, struck a similar note: "I think social media is one tool that is keeping the conversation alive, but I'm not sure it would work in isolation," she said. "Right now it's being used in combination with traditional media coverage and live events."

But she acknowledged that the students’ success has so far exceeded her expectations. Whatever happens next, she said, "I can definitely say we haven't seen anything like this before."

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https://www.politico.com/story/2018/02/27/emma-gonzalez-florida-twitter-nra-426642