Twice as many Americans used the internet as their primary source of news about the 2006 campaign compared with the most recent mid-term election in 2002. Some 15% of all American adults say the internet was the place where they got most of their campaign news during the election, up from 7% in the mid-term election of 2002. A post-election survey shows that the 2006 race also produced a notable class of online political activists. Some 23% of those who used the internet for political purposes – the people we call campaign internet users – actually created or forwarded online original political commentary or politically-related videos.
PDF and PowerPoint presentations on this topic are available on the Pew Internet & American Life Project. Coverage from the BBC and C|Net. Previously from WNM: A “Techlection” ‘06 Recap and The Politics of the Internet: for better or worse?
