It’s Snapchat, Bernie! Democrat Joins Social Media App

Senator Bernie Sanders led a group of Democratic leaders in criticizing Israel’s blockade of the Gaza. Image by getty images

By Angela Moon and Melissa Fares November 17, 2015

Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Bernie Sanders joined Snapchat on Monday, becoming the latest contender in the 2016 White House race to join the social media app popular with teens and millennials.

On his official Twitter account (@BernieSanders), the 74-year-old U.S. senator from Vermont announced that he had joined Snapchat: “What is this Snapshot thing and why do I only get ten seconds?”

Snapchat, a messaging app particularly popular among people ages 18 to 24, a desirable group of potential voters, allows its almost 200 million users to send photo messages that disappear in seconds.

Sanders joined Snapchat as “bernie.sanders” and just hours later posted his first “Snap Story,” a string of snaps that lasts for 24 hours instead of just few seconds: “3, 2, 1 … We’re off to Cleveland. Join the political revolution. Help us make real change in America.”

Sanders has been active on social media, especially on Twitter, although the number of his followers is far lower than his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. Sanders has 873,000 followers while Clinton has 4.7 million. She joined Snapchat in August.

Other presidential candidates on Snapchat include Republicans Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Chris Christie, Carly Fiornia and Jeb Bush.—Reuters

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