• Politics

The White House Is Now on Snapchat

2 minute read

The White House joined the hip, teen-friendly social media platform Snapchat on Monday to offer a behind the scenes look at the Obama administration in its last 11 months.

Its first snap, posted as a “story” within the app, gives users a glimpse of the president’s desk in the Oval Office and a bowl of apples that sits on a coffee table between two plush couches.

According to a White House blog post, it’s joining Snapchat “to engage this broad cross-section of the population in new and creative ways.”

“Tomorrow, our Official Story will take you behind the scenes of the White House’s State of the Union preparations, with footage and angles you won’t find anywhere else,” the blog post says.

The Obama administration has long used social media to “meet the American people where they are.” The president recently launched his own official Twitter account, a Facebook page, and his administration officials regularly use platforms like Twitter to engage in Q&A sessions with the public.

The White House aims to use the millennial-friendly platform to connect with young people as the president winds down in Washington and begins campaigning for Democratic candidates in 2016. The app has over 100 million daily active users and about 60% of smartphone users ages 13 to 34 use it.

 

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