Getting the Message Out: A Two-Step Model of the Role of the Internet in Campaign Communication Flows During the 2005 British General Election

To date the Internet has apparently had limited impact on changing 'politics as usual' in election campaigns. Parties often fail to make imaginative use of the medium, while relatively few people use it to acquire information about an election. However, while it may be the case that only political activists use the Internet to acquire information about an election, these activists may then disseminate that information more widely because they are particularly likely to discuss the election with their fellow citizens. We find evidence that such a two-step flow of information may well have occurred during the 2005 British election.