More than one million Facebook users have used the sites new button to share the news that they have voted in the General Election.
Facebook revealed the ‘I Voted’ button yesterday for the first time in a UK General Election, which has proven to be successful as more than 1.2 million users logged their news.
The special button which has been used in European elections, as well as in the past three US presidential elections. It appears on the top of the site’s news feed for the 25 million users to access.
The social media giant, which has more than 1.4 billion global users, stated that the most discussed election issue is the economy, with it being the most discussed topic in 350 of 651 constituencies, with immigration and Europe being the next most discussed topics.
Facebook also says the button can have a positive effect on the vote turnout, quoting a study by the Science Journal Nature that found 300,000 people went to the polls during the US election because they saw that their friends were voting also.
Facebook also revealed the most talked about issue in each of the party leaders local areas. Health is the most discussed topic in Witney, where Tory Leader David Cameron is standing, whereas Europe was the biggest issue for voters in Ed Miliband’s constituency of Doncaster North.
Facebook users in Sheffield Hallam where Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg is standing were found to be discussing the economy the most.
Twitter is another social media site pushing the election, with the hashtag ‘I Voted’ trending, and a prompt at the top of the screen so users can quickly share their news that they had been to the polling station.
Leave a Reply