State Superintendent John Barge is turning to a new tactic to drum up support in his bid to oust Gov. Nathan Deal: Paying popular third-party Twitter accounts to promote his campaign.
We noticed a few tweets recently coming from several accounts in support of the superintendent's GOP primary challenge, including GAFollowers, a handle with about 146,000 followers which dubs itself as one of Georgia's biggest media outlets.
The account is run by Jeremy Jones and Joshua Jelks, who quickly confirmed that Barge was a paying customer. Said Jones:
Campaigns have long paid for sponsored tweets to ensure they show up in your feed. Others have bought thousands of followers to make them appear more relevant. But paying an account for a political endorsement is a more novel concept that underscores the behind-the-scenes battle for votes being waged in social media.
It should be noted that the two other primary challengers, Republican David Pennington and Democrat Jason Carter, are also embracing aggressive Twitter tactics. And after the Jan. 28 snowjam, Deal's team has also taken to Twitter with vigor. But we haven't seen as many lighthearted feeds like this one in a while:
Two bald eagles are due to hatch soon in a nest at Berry College! Watch the streaming "nest cam" at http://t.co/TLgb9JSWKZ.
About the Author
