In the wake of the 2016 election, social media has been singled out for blame for the ways in which some platforms were so easily manipulated into tools against democracy.
For 23-year-old Richard Wolf, it’s a completely different story; social media is the driving force behind his campaign to become the Democratic nominee in Texas House District 63.
“At least for my district...online communities have really put together a lot of really strong volunteers...and have really mobilized the Democrats in my area,” Wolf told Cheddar.
Wolf has been wielding memes to discuss liberal policy proposals on social media, which he says is the most cost-efficient and unfiltered way to campaign. So far, he has only spent about $200 on online advertising.
“Basically, I just make whatever I want, do whatever I like, and I put that online,” Wolf said. “So far, I’ve been getting pretty positive responses.”
Early voting numbers for the Texas primary on Tuesday show that Democratic turnout has surpassed GOP voting, giving the party momentum and hope to flip the Lone Star State. The Democrats face an uphill battle there as the Republicans now hold 95 of the 150 seats in the state House. But Wolf sees positive signs.
“People are not happy with the Trump administration...and we can see the Republican party kind of losing energy.” said Wolf.
Only time will tell whether the rising Democrat tide will lift Wolf’s boat at the ballot box.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/how-this-texas-house-candidate-is-using-memes-to-move-the-state-leftward).
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency that oversees student visas, just released new guidelines for international students, which say that if an international student is enrolled in a program that decides to go fully virtual, they must leave the county.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday launched an all-out effort to reopen schools this fall.
Camden, NJ has garnered national headlines after the city replaced its police department with a community based policing program. Cheddar's Michelle Castillo gets an inside look at this alternate type of policing.
The Trump administration has formally notified the United Nations of its withdrawal from the World Health Organization, although the pullout won’t take effect until next year.
TikTok says it will stop operations in Hong Kong after the city enacted a sweeping national security law last week.
The government on Monday identified roughly 650,000 mostly small businesses and nonprofits that received taxpayer money from a program that likely helped prevent the job market meltdown from growing worse but that also benefited some politically connected firms.
A white woman walking her dog who called the police during a videotaped dispute with a Black man in Central Park was charged Monday with filing a false report.
Stacy Abrams, author and founder of 'Fair Fight,' talks the need to expand vote-by-mail options for Americans as the concerns of voter suppression rise.
Lauren Paylor, a bartender and mixologist, most recently at Silver Lyan, a newly-opened cocktail bar in Washington, DC., talked to Cheddar about unemployment amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The Supreme Court has upheld a 1991 law that bars robocalls to cellphones.
