Schulz facts – an analysis

How much can skillful social media marketing and hyping create post-truth resistance? An analysis based on #SchulzFacts.

Martin Schulz. SPD member. Former European politician. School dropouts before graduating from high school. He had a drinking problem in his late teens and has been sober ever since. Sometimes a look like a sleepy dachshund. Yes, somehow a man from the substitute bench. You might think so.

But all of these supposed negative attributes seem to be bouncing off the SPD candidate for chancellor at the moment. Because Schulz is the new internet star. There are hashtags and internet myths surrounding him that make even a bachelor and his 22 dolls look old.

#GodChancellor, #NoBrakes, #SchulzFacts.

It's crazy how hyped it is right now. Is it smart marketing? Is it exactly Schulz's special charm? Is it the aspect that it's not perfect? At least it's obviously a moment of happiness for the SPD at the moment, especially when you look at the last Sunday question.

Unexpected – calculated?

Marin Schulz's politics are not so much the issue at the moment, it's more the hype surrounding him. #SchulzFacts is trending, for example. Who expected that? Probably the people who hype him specifically and sometimes ironically. Like so many things on the internet, the Schulz hype started on Reddit. I don't want to repeat everything or reinvent the wheel, but rather refer to Bento's .
Here you can clearly see: Schulz is the ironic counterpart to Trump. Exaggerated, over-the-top, of course removed from reality . But somehow it is apparently exactly the counter-reaction to the serious populism: a nicely shouted “Fuck you, blue!”

And black too. And somehow everyone. Because Schulz is the uncompromising social media star. At this point I have to admit: yes, this is great social media marketing! Seriously, I've spoken to some politicians in the past where the topic was positive presentation on social networks. Sure, my advice also went in the direction of cult of personality and positive presentation of strengths, but this over-the-top concept of irrational over-presence never occurred to me.

According to Bento, these hypes and cult representations don't come from any agencies and if that's really true, such agencies are probably - sorry for the expression - biting themselves in the ass, because here a cult of personality markets itself completely on its own. And without having to make any effort to appear believable.

On the contrary: the old Chuck Norris jokes are back, only Chuck Norris is no longer there. He was simply replaced. Because the Schulz hype MUST be exaggerated. It goes hand in hand with the negative attributes of the politician mentioned at the beginning. It has to be absurd because it has to compete against the greatest enemy of today: the post-truth fakes !

Post-truth resistance!

And that seems to be exactly what it's all about. We have repeatedly observed how politicians from different parties had to defend themselves against false reports, how false quotes were put into their mouths or how angry they themselves had to get into a rage in order to make a point (think of Gabriel's Stinky Finger ). Even sitting out network policy, such as that carried out by the Chancellor, does not create a protective armor against attacks via social networks.

But the Schulz hype... the Schulz hype is new. New and different. And it has an interesting side effect: the hype seems to make Schulz the person post-factually resistant. Because in the end it's quite simple and every SciFi fan will understand that: anyone who is outside the phase simply cannot be attacked.

And that's exactly what the Schulz hype is currently doing. It places the politician outside the normal phase. The previous fake and defamation intentions that appeared towards other politicians do not work against Schulz.

On the contrary: interestingly, the real corrections seem all the better here. fake about Schulz on Mimikama . As a rule, it's not a big number, the analyzes and corrections to fake politicians are usually limited in scope and always lag behind the fake. Not at Schulz! Seriously. The publication of this clarification on Twitter went MORE than crazy. At least as far as our humble @ZDDK_ account is concerned.

The fake #quote from #MartinSchulz . (not a #schulzfacts , but a SchulzFake) https://t.co/uFj435Bnv0
— mimikama (@ZDDK_) February 1, 2017

Schulz appears unassailable and therefore those who attempt to attack appear easier than refuted. That's why it just feels right when you can denounce a Schulzfake as such. Because – and now it gets interesting: Schulz himself has become post-factual as a hype! And with this change to the post-factual level, Schulz as a person stands above the attacks; they can be fended off with ease, at least on a parallel level.

And why does this work for Schulz? This is probably due to the fact that Schulz is quite a blank slate in federal politics. He hasn't been sorted yet, he's barely appeared. In this respect, social media hype about the person is an advance towards a positive characterization that can thrive in a field that is not yet weeded. At the same time, there is also a neck-and-neck race with the defamation attempts, which could, however, fall behind, as the supporters of the social media hype are often only interested in seeing a positive image of the politician.

And what should Schulz do with it now? The whole game is of course a risk for Schulz, because how long will he play this game? Here I'll just venture out with one opinion: JOIN! He can't do more than lose. The SPD is in a trough and in the end this is the only way it can win.

Schulz can only go one way anyway. Should he just follow a progressive path? Of course it's a fine line, but his opponents walk it too. It has been around for years and they have gained a lot of space with populist and demagogic tweets or Facebook status messages. However, his fellow and parallel campaigners do not walk this tightrope and therefore remain lethargic.

And now?

Many participants in the social media hype surrounding Schulz are ultimately not party political disciples. My note as an author: I (to be honest) didn't even have Schulz on my radar and therefore laughed a little at the report that named Schulz as a candidate for chancellor. But I have to admit at this point that I admire this hype phenomenon. Really. It is precisely the hype that is the answer to unobjective and quick-fire populism. A hype that at least partially eliminates the fake attacks and also contains a lot of irony and humor.

#SchulzFacts. And if Martin Schulz were the bachelor, he would always be allowed to give 22 roses. And everyone would stay.

via unicorn puke