President Barack Obama’s Twitter town hall was the big news this week.
The media buzz surrounding the event may have possibly dissuaded Republicans and Democrats from planning big announcements or dropping presidential aspirations. However, the town hall â with Obama receiving and answering questions via Twitter â*was a bit of a political free-for-all, as the GOP rose up to publicly ask and retweet tough questions about Obama’s plan for America.
But that wasn’t the only party crashing that took place â*look through these quick hits from the past week and let us know what you think. This weekly series picks out the week’s top stories in the intersection of digital technology and politics.
Republicans Jump On Obama’s Town Hall
After 94,000 tweets and 61,000 questions, it’s safe to say that Obama’s Twitter town hall was sort of a big deal. The event was the first of its kind as Obama took the social platform to address the American public’s questions and concerns. Some people, however, felt that Obama wasn’t really looking to answer questions, but just deliver his same old talking points.
The president didn’t address many popular and heavily retweeted questions, including a slew of sometimes relevant, sometimes snarky quips from Republicans.
Of those questions, Obama did answer one from @SpeakerBoehner, the account for House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner: “Will you outline a plan #4jobs – other than more spending — for the American people?”
However, Obama did not address Rep. Paul Ryan’s, R-Wis., challenge to a debate on the economy or other questions like this one from @OrrinHatch: “You said it wasnât a good idea to raise taxes in a recession but that is all you offer now to fix debt. Why?”
GOP Announces Social Media Champion
It was a busy week all around for Republicans. The House Republican Conference recently announced the results of its New Media Challenge, an NCAA-style knock-out bracket designed to get more Republicans online and to suss out which GOP politician reigns supreme in social media, OhMyGov! reports.
House Rep. John Fleming, R-La., took the top honors for the second year in a row. Points were awarded for amount of follows, likes and views across social platforms earned during the competition. Members were also encouraged to submit best practices to be shared with their colleagues each week.
Fox Gets Hacked, Tweeting Fake News of Obama Assassination
Someone crashed Fox’s Twitter party with a well-timed, but serious hack of its political news account. Hackers took control of @Foxnewspolitical in the wee hours of Monday morning and used it to tweet fake news about President Obama’s assassination, including a glib congratulations to Vice President Joe Biden on his new “promotion.” The Secret Service is investigating the hack.
Images courtesy of Flickr, monkiemag, Ol.v!er [H2vPk]
More About: barack obama, Fox, gop, hack, john fleming, politics, president obama, republicans, Town Hall, townhall, twitter, week in digital politics
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