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- The 2020 election season is well underway, and with it comes a slew of social-media failures.
- The field is crowded, with 23 Democrats and two Republicans — including President Donald Trump — vying for the presidency.
- Former Vice President Joe Biden leads the Democratic field, but he’s no stranger to controversy, much of it caused by his team’s social-media screwups.
- Meanwhile, other candidates like former Rep. Beto O’Rourke, Rep. Eric Swalwell, and Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Elizabeth Warren could all use lessons on how not to own themselves on social media.
- Visit BusinessInsider.com for more stories.
The 2020 election season is officially underway — and with it comes an avalanche of social media failures.
Twenty-four Democrats and two Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have so far announced their candidacies.
And even though there’s still over a year until the Election Day 2020, there’s no dearth of social media blunders from this group of contenders.
Former Vice President Joe Biden is currently leading the Democratic field by a significant margin, but he’s no stranger to controversy, and he’s had his fair share of social media screw-ups so far.
Meanwhile, former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke, California Rep. Eric Swalwell, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren could all use lessons on how not to own themselves online.
Scroll down for some of the most cringeworthy social media flops of the 2020 campaign (so far):
Beto O’Rourke has livestreamed mundane moments of his life before, but when he livestreamed his visit to the dentist, everyone agreed that he’d taken it too far.
AP
Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke posted a video of his visit to the dentist on Instagram.
The clip began with O’Rourke saying, "So, I’m here at the dentist," while he had a suction tool in his mouth.
As the dental hygienist, Diana, continued working, O’Rourke asked her about her background and her thoughts on living in El Paso, Texas.
O’Rourke has livestreamed other mundane episodes, like when he was cutting steak, eating guacamole while driving, and, of course, roadtripping to Washington, DC, with fellow Texas Rep. Will Hurd.
But this time, people thought he took it too far.
Eric Swalwell tweeted photos of the American flag and the LGBT pride flag hanging over his office door and said, "I fly these flags 365 days a year" — but the LGBT flag still had folding creases in it.
Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP Photo
California Rep. Eric Swalwell immediately got called out for claiming he flies the LGBT pride flag "365 days a year," because the creases in the flag told another story.
People wasted no time in criticizing Swalwell for the move, and the California congressman’s was soon "ratioed," a term that refers to when a tweet has more replies than retweets or likes.
Swalwell drew wide condemnation for posting another tweet that many viewed as pandering to the African-American community.
Alex Edelman/Getty Images
"Being a good president doesn’t mean you speak the loudest or tweet the most," Swalwell tweeted. "Being a good president means knowing when to listen."
The tweet was accompanied by a photo of Swalwell seated among a group of African-Americans. And people were not buying it.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- POWER RANKING: Here’s who has the best chance of becoming the 2020 Democratic presidential nominee
- Elizabeth Warren says she’d reverse the DOJ policy that says a sitting president can’t be indicted
- The DNC just made it harder to get on the debate stage and the crowded field of candidates could get a lot smaller very soon
SEE ALSO: Democrats are divided as ever on impeachment after Mueller punted the question to Congress
Source: Business Insider – ssheth@businessinsider.com (Sonam Sheth)