Member-only story
The Government Has an Instagram Problem
Social media connects us to our officials, but much of what they say will be lost to history
There have always been stories left untold in Washington, but the ubiquity of social media is creating a new void in our collective memories. The digital records created by today’s politicians may go missing unless our institutions undergo a major update.
Here’s one example: Younger politicians, like congress members-elect Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, often connect with their constituents through Instagram Stories. But the updates they share become inaccessible to the public after 24 hours, unless a “Highlights” feature to save them is toggled on. As new members of Congress come to the Capitol, the ways they tell their own stories using the platforms of the present is creating newfound urgency around archiving the historical record for the future.
I am not a neutral party in this debate. As the deputy director of the Sunlight Foundation, I called for technology companies to create and publish political advertising files online, and worked with congressional legislators to draft the Honest Ads Act.
Over the past year, I have continued to watchdog the technology industry’s opaque self-regulatory efforts, calling attention to the void of advertising transparency at Amazon, Microsoft, Snapchat, and Oath.
The technology giants of today haven’t built or operated the giant social media platforms with the public’s interest in mind.
How politicians and governments use social media matters. We should expect them to do it better, with an eye toward civic engagement, transparency, accountability, and accessibility. And we should look to 21st century solutions to close the gap until official reforms are in place.
Until Congress, parliaments, and legislatures step up, technology companies that operate the public squares of our times should build and maintain a public interest file of the updates from politicians and governments on their services.
