The dangers of old politicians on YouTube...and the entertainment it provides us

Ahh YouTube. A website favoured by uni students and all time wasters alike, second only to facebook in my top rated sites of all time, is now days becoming another avenue for politicians to spread their lies, or ‘campaign for votes’ as they call it.
So sure, YouTube can be used effectively by political parties and politicians, saying whatever they want to win some votes. But if you want my opinion, they only reason I would ever search a politician on YouTube is to see them ridiculed through satire and parody.

Those of us who enjoy seeing politicians embarrassed or making dicks of themselves have been blessed by having good old George W Bush sitting in the White House for an 8 year period, providing us in need of a giggle hundreds of opportunities to laugh at his stupidity and misfortune, and what better place to share these priceless moments than on YouTube. Just type ‘George W Bush’ into the search tab and see such predictive results as “George W Bush bloopers” and “George W Bush funny” just to name a few. One of my personal favourites is a collaboration of the top 10 funny Bush moments as seen on the David Letterman Show.


This is the risk which all politicians and political parties take when entering the unforgiving world of YouTube. The rise of the produser only adds fuel to the fire. Where there are politicians, there will always be people trying to cut them down. They open themselves up to slander from the general public, they risk having their message misinterpreted and most likely find themselves open for parody.
There are some benefits for pollies using YouTube, as long as you make the media appropriate to the demographic targeted (in other words, don’t just ramble on in front of a camera like little Johnny Howard does). Take for instance the viral video clip ‘Obama Girl’ which appeared on YouTube in June 2007, right in time for Barack Obama’s campaign for the 2008 election. As Levinson states, It is impossible to say whether this simple video had an impact on Obama’s eventual win in the election, but the 17million viewers, most who would be in the under 30 category, a demographic which Obama polled extremely well in. Is this just coincidence or did YouTube play a role in one of history’s proudest moments electing Obama into the White House? You be the judge.