Trolling and sick burns

John Fetterman’s winning social media strategy against Mehmet Oz in the 2022 Pennsylvania Senate campaign

Abstract

In 2021, Pew Research Center estimated that 7 in 10 Americans use social media, and it is a political campaign tool that is becoming more important to reaching voters. The Pennsylvania Senate campaign of John Fetterman used multiple social media tools, including Twitter and TikTok, skillfully and in a unique way to differentiate himself from Republic candidate Mehmet Oz. This case will demonstrate the Fetterman campaign’s use of social media trolling and irreverent humor to get a leg up on the competition in what became a successful Senate run.