Donald Trump is the most effective, powerful, and amoral user of earned media in the history of American campaigning. His massive Twitter and social-media footprint and his pet state-media organs amplify every signal, no matter how mendacious or misspelled. His 60 million followers—including a few million bots controlled by foreign intelligence services (ahem, @Jack!)—will echo, signal-boost, share, and spread every message. If Trump tweeted the word “fart,” he’d get 100,000 likes and people would sing his praises for breaking down the old barriers of presidential stodginess.
