BBC Homepage
  • Skip to content
  • Accessibility Help
  • Your account
  • Notifications
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • More menu
More menu
Search BBC
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
Close menu
BBC News
Menu
  • Home
  • InDepth
  • Israel-Gaza war
  • War in Ukraine
  • Climate
  • UK
  • World
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Culture
More
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Health
  • Family & Education
  • In Pictures
  • Newsbeat
  • BBC Verify
  • Disability
  • BBC Trending

US Election 2016: Trump's 'hidden' Facebook army

  • Published
    15 November 2016
Share page
About sharing
Facebook imageImage source, Facebook
ByBBC Trending
What's popular and why

Donald Trump's spectacular victory in the US presidential election on 8 November took many by surprise.

Polls seemed to significantly underestimate his support and few pundits gave him a chance.

But many Trump voters, it turned out, were hiding in plain sight - on Facebook.

Thousands of home-grown Trump support pages populate the social networking site. They are a mix of closed and open groups. Most have a few hundred members. But many have thousands. And a few, like American Patriots for Donald J. Trump, external, have hundreds of thousands of followers.

Trump Facebook groupImage source, Facebook
Trump Facebook groupImage source, Facebook

"There's really no other place you can talk about Trump in a positive light," says Ann Iuen, who lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and started the Americans for Trump, external Facebook group.

"People were scared to give their support to Trump in front of their family and friends," she says. "There's a certain amount of animosity towards us."

This is a common complaint among Trump supporters, many of whom say they feel muzzled by political correctness, the press, and even their neighbours.

Iuen's Facebook group has more than 56,000 members. She says she tries to keep the conversation civil: banning those who comment from swearing, self-promotion and posting threats.

Facebook postImage source, Facebook
Facebook postImage source, Facebook

In many groups, Trump supporters share news and are often scathing or defamatory towards Hillary Clinton. Many post fake news stories alongside factual pro-Trump articles.

Widely circulated fake stories include accounts of Pope Francis endorsing the Republican candidate, Hillary Clinton murdering an FBI agent and President Obama "admitting" he was born in Kenya.

Fake news of this nature spread so widely during the campaign, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was criticised for not doing more to suppress hoaxers. In response he's promised to crack down on fake news, while at the same time denying fake stories swung the result.

Joshua Benton, director of the Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard University, points out that several hoax news stories were shared hundreds of thousands of times on Facebook - far more than many legitimate investigative stories about both Trump and Clinton.

"[Zuckerberg] said that less than 1% of information on Facebook is actively a hoax," Benton says. "I would point out that Facebook is really big, so 1% of Facebook is still an awful lot."

Facebook postImage source, Facebook
Facebook postImage source, Facebook

According to Pew Research, external more than 60% of US adults got their election news from social media this year - up from 49% during the 2012 election. In his first major TV interview, broadcast on CBS on Sunday, Trump credited his social networking accounts for leading him to victory despite being outspent by the Clinton campaign in key states.

"I think that social media has more power than the money they spent, and I think maybe to a certain extent, I proved that," he said.

But the rise and rise of social media as a news source has brought along with it another fundamental problem. Algorithms designed to deliver stories users will like tends to feed them news articles that reinforce their political perspectives, while depriving them of material that challenges their views. As a result, users spend most of their time in virtual spaces known as "filter bubbles".

"Social networks are based in large part - and Facebook to a very extreme degree - on the personal relationships that you have," Benton says. "It's based on who your friends are, who your acquaintances are, and our friends, for the most part, tend to share our political points of views."

"So our Facebook relationships end up leading to us seeing more content that confirms our existing points of view," he says. "That is a different form of getting news than we used to see with newspapers, where the idea would be at least a nominally objective perspective would be presented to you, rather than something that's designed to please you as a conservative or as a liberal."

One fake meme that made the rounds online claimed voters could cast their ballots onlineImage source, Facebook
Image caption,

One fake meme that made the rounds online claimed voters could cast their ballots online

Arguments about the perils of social news will continue. Meanwhile, Trump Facebook groups continue to thrive, even though the election is history. Ann Iuen's group has added more than 10,000 members in the week since the 8 November result. A number of new groups have formed since Trump's victory.

"We the people are sick and tired of being taken advantage of by Republicans & Democrats," reads the description attached to the page Donald J. Trump President of the United States, external.

Facebook postImage source, Facebook

Blog by Charlie Northcott and Mike Wendling, external

More election coverage from BBC Trending: Are hate crimes spiking after Donald Trump's victory?

TweetImage source, Twitter

Dozens of reports of alleged hate crimes have surfaced on social media in the wake of the election of Donald Trump. READ MORE

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending, external, and find us on Facebook, external. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending.

More on this story

  • How the dog pics you like could change who you vote for

    • Published
      18 April 2015
    Indiana the cocker spaniel
  • The rise and rise of fake news

    • Published
      6 November 2016
    Newspaper with 'Liar Liar' headline

Top stories

  • Live. 

    Donald Trump and First Lady Melania board Air Force One as UK state visit ends

    • 41351 viewing41k viewing
  • Trump suggests Starmer could use military to control UK borders

    • Published
      33 minutes ago
  • First migrant deported to France under 'one in one out' deal

    • Published
      8 minutes ago

More to explore

  • Royals, Maga and tech CEOs: What we learned from state banquet guest list

    A long dining table with dignitaries seated down either side is seen in a banquet hall, with staff and press against the walls.
  • The Summer I Turned Pretty to conclude with feature film

    Lola Tung, left, wears a low cut silver dress as she places her right hand on teh shoulder of her I Turned Pretty co-star Christopher Briney on a red carpet. Behind them is a poster that says The Summer I Turned Pretty: The Movie.
  • 'Slot-age time' - breaking down Liverpool's late success

    • Attribution
      Sport
    A composition graphic of Arne Slot, Virgil van Dijk, and Mohamed Salah celebrate some of Liverpool's late winners
  • Leonardo DiCaprio on why his new film addresses 'divisiveness in our culture'

    Leonardo DiCaprio attends the "One Battle After Another" London Premiere at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on September 16, 2025 in London, England
  • In pictures: Chequers, scout groups and a dolls' house - day two of Trump's state visit

    The Princess of Wales (left) and First Lady Melania Trump in Frogmore Gardens in Windsor, Berkshire, on day two of US President Donald Trump's second state visit to the UK.
  • Fashion risks going backwards on diversity, says ex-Vogue boss

    Edward Enninful in a suit and bow tie
  • 'Day by day, year by year' - Borg on cancer diagnosis

    • Attribution
      Sport
    Bjorn Borg waits to serve during the 1980 Wimbledon final against John McEnroe
  • 'Ultimate in cancel culture': Fans outside Jimmy Kimmel studio react to show's axing

    Split image of man on the right and woman on the left outside Jimmy Kimmel studio in LA
  • Katty Kay: Why America is at a dangerous crossroads following the Charlie Kirk shooting

    A treated image of Charlie Kirk in front of the flag, with his hand pointing up
loading elsewhere stories

Most read

  1. 1

    Corbyn and Sultana clash over new party membership

  2. 2

    Scientists pinpoint the brain's internal mileage clock

  3. 3

    First migrant deported to France under 'one in one out' deal

  4. 4

    Two teenagers charged over Transport for London cyber attack

  5. 5

    In pictures: Chequers, scout groups and a dolls' house - day two of Trump's state visit

  6. 6

    'Cataclysmic' situation in Gaza City, UN official says, as Israeli tanks advance

  7. 7

    Trump suggests Starmer could use military to control UK borders

  8. 8

    Macrons to offer 'scientific evidence' to US court to prove Brigitte is a woman, lawyer says

  9. 9

    Sweet treats for Kate and Melania as they host Scouts

  10. 10

    Man who died in double shooting named as 'suspect'

BBC News Services

  • On your mobile
  • On smart speakers
  • Get news alerts
  • Contact BBC News

Best of the BBC

  • Stacey and Joe welcome you back to Pickle Cottage

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Stacey & Joe
  • What's the future of home parcel delivery?

    • Attribution
      Sounds
  • The state of the UK-US special relationship examined

    • Attribution
      iPlayer
    Panorama: Trump and Starmer
  • A couple's search for the Croydon cat killer

    • Attribution
      Sounds
    Illuminated: The Cat Killer Detectives
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • Terms of Use
  • About the BBC
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • Accessibility Help
  • Parental Guidance
  • Contact the BBC
  • Make an editorial complaint
  • BBC emails for you

Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.