Trump's nationwide Snapchat filter snipes at 'Crooked Hillary'
The Trump campaign stirs the pot ahead of tonight's debate.
Social networks have become an extremely important medium for getting younger generations engaged in politics, but they are also proving to be the perfect forum for playground tactics. Snapchat's location-based geofilters are particularly popular, and in the run-up to this year's presidential election, everyone from Clinton, Sanders and Cruz to outside organizations allied to one candidate or another have used them to push their agendas at debates, conventions and other events. The Trump campaign is kicking things up a gear today, though, launching its first nationwide geofilter attacking "Crooked Hillary" ahead of tonight's debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York.
The simple frame features fireworks and Trump's "Make America great again" slogan in a patriotic palette, and names "Crooked Hillary" as Trump's opponent on debate day. While not exactly a zinger, raiding campaign funds for a nationwide geofilter shows how important they're now considered in shepherding public opinion. And given the news that much of what sits on Hillary Clinton's private email server won't be revealed until after the election, Trump's campaign needs to step up its smearing game any way it can.
Check out Engadget's guide to the 2016 presidential candidates here.