Jan 2, 2022 - Politics & Policy
How Congress gets the word out
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Democrats posted on social media and sent out press releases more than Republicans last year on all platforms except YouTube.
By the numbers: Members of Congress posted on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube 793,483 times between the start of the year and the end of November — slightly up from a total of 784,614 in 2020, according to data and analysis provided to Axios by Quorum.
- The uptick was largely due to members being more active on Facebook than Twitter compared to 2020.
- March 2021 had the highest number of social media posts and press releases, driven by the passage of the American Rescue Plan and the exploding crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Between the lines: Not much legislation can be accomplished in a 50-50 Senate, but Congress remained active on messaging. For every one bill introduced last year, senators and House members:
- Tweeted 53 times.
- Posted on Facebook 33 times.
- Shared 2 YouTube videos.
- Published 7 press releases.
