Wrote: Fatbardh Dema
The reactivation of dormant Facebook pages during election campaigns is a phenomenon that is currently taking place. Pages that have been inactive for a period of time are becoming active again to distribute political content. This strategy appears to be used to leverage the existing audience of these pages and influence public opinion at key moments in the campaign.
On social media Facebook, hibrid.info has managed to find pages that were inactive and became active shortly before the election campaign by publishing posts on political topics. The parliamentary elections will be held on February 9, while the campaign started on January 11. The decision to set the election date was made PUbLIC on August 16, 2024 by President Vjosa Osmani.
Page "In Time", which has over 416 thousand followers, had no posts since 19 June 2024This page was restored from the date December 30, 2024 posting statements by Kosovar politicians and posts about the elections.
From December 30th until today (February 7th), this page published a total of 10 posts on the topic of elections in Kosovo.
Next page "Politicsforeign.com", which has over 28 thousand followers, was inactive as of 21 July 2024. But, this page was activated on November 2th with a poll-style post with the question "Which party will you vote for in the next elections?".
In December, this page had no posts. While during January it became active by publishing over 100 posts for and about the elections in Kosovo, posting statements by politicians and photos and videos from the campaigns of political entities.
Page "New Kosovo"with over 46 thousand followers, was inactive since November 28, 2023Activating this page now October 6, 2024 with a political post.
From October 6th until today (February 7th), this page has published nearly 200 posts with political content. Among them were statements by politicians, photos and videos from electoral campaigns, as well as calls to vote for specific candidates.
Pages that have been inactive for a period of time appear to be used strategically to engage specific audiences during election time. This may include pages that were once focused on other issues but are reactivated to promote political messages and increase influence in the virtual community.
This tactic exploits social platform algorithms, which favor content that has high engagement, and is a way to leverage existing audiences to distribute focused messages. While it can be used for positive purposes, it can also create opportunities for information manipulation and influencing users' political perceptions.