ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the role that social media play in the advocacy and lobbying strategies of interest groups. It provides a comprehensive overview of the state-of-the-art in the existing research, and examines key current theories and findings with regard to this central question. The chapter maps out various opportunities and challenges for the future study of the role of social media in lobbying activities. Two fundamental debates shape current research on social media, advocacy and interest groups: the extent to which social media represents a paradigm change in the politics of advocacy, and who benefits from these new technologies and why. Social media tools enable advocacy groups to mobilize their members to “signal broad public outrage among segments of the American public to political appointees and administration officials”. In 2008 Wikipedia defined social media as an umbrella term that defines the various activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and the construction of words and pictures.
