‘Social’-ist Bernie really clicks online
WASHINGTON — Sanders is berning up the Internet.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has seen an explosion in support online as he revs up his campaign for President, and is using the increased attention to build a volunteer army he hopes can match Hillary Clinton’s more professional organization.
Facebook data obtained by the Daily News show that more than twice as many people were talking about Sanders last week on the social media platform than in the week before, and that the overall conversation about him nearly tripled in the same time, from 5.5 million unique interactions the week ending Aug. 5 to 14.4 million in the week ending Aug. 12. That final figure comes close to the 15.3 million unique interactions (likes, posts, comments and shares) Clinton got in the same period, the latest sign of growing buzz around the Vermont lefty — and the work of a solid digital operation.
“They’re doing a fantastic job on the digital side, no question,” said Jason Rosenbaum, the technology director of Action Network, which isn’t affiliated with any presidential campaign.
Google trends also show a sharp uptick in interest in Sanders over the last few weeks.
More people have been searching about Sanders than Clinton since mid-June, partly because he’s more of an unknown so more are looking for basic information. But searches of his name spiked more than a week ago, during a string of huge rallies he held on the West Coast that drew from 8,000 to 28,000 people.
Sanders digital director Kenneth Pennington said they’re doing all they can to turn that online interest into the hard currency of modern campaigning, volunteers and money.
“There’s this incredible amount of enthusiasm around the country and on the Internet surrounding Bernie’s message … and what we’re focusing on digitally is building a serious campaign that can convert that energy into votes,” he told The News.