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---
title: Iowa Caucus 2016: Bernie Sanders Dominates Facebook
description: Facebook users in Iowa talked about Bernie Sanders more than any other presidential candidate in the hours leading up to the Iowa caucuses
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article:published_time: 2016-02-01T23:45:29.000Z
article:modified_time: 2023-12-13T19:20:42.000Z
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og:title: Here&#x27;s Who Dominated Facebook Before the Iowa Caucuses
og:description: Monitoring social media chatter at the end of a close race
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og:image:alt: Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders Holds Iowa Campaign Rally
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twitter:title: Here&#x27;s Who Dominated Facebook Before the Iowa Caucuses
twitter:description: Monitoring social media chatter at the end of a close race
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# Here's Who Dominated Social Media Before the Iowa Caucuses

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by 

[Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/)


## Daniel White


Updated: Dec 13, 2023 7:20 PM UTCPublished: Feb 1, 2016 11:45 PM UTC

![Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders Holds Iowa Campaign Rally](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3374d063a74e3bc7/69887ba8a988ca2dac6b6650/gettyimages-507809912.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=3:2)

A woman with tattoos on her arm holds up a campaign sign as Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate, not pictured, speaks during a campaign rally at the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center in Waterloo, Iowa, U.S., on Sunday, Jan. 31\. Hillary Clinton is holding onto a slim lead over Sanders in Iowa as Democrats prepare for Monday's caucuses, though an outpouring of young voters and those who say the system is rigged could enable Sanders to pull off an upset, according to a new poll. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images

A woman with tattoos on her arm holds up a campaign sign as Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont and 2016 Democratic presidential candidate, not pictured, speaks during a campaign rally at the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center in Waterloo, Iowa, U.S., on Sunday, Jan. 31\. Hillary Clinton is holding onto a slim lead over Sanders in Iowa as Democrats prepare for Monday's caucuses, though an outpouring of young voters and those who say the system is rigged could enable Sanders to pull off an upset, according to a new poll. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesBloomberg—Bloomberg via Getty Images

by 

[Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/)


## Daniel White


Updated: Dec 13, 2023 7:20 PM UTCPublished: Feb 1, 2016 11:45 PM UTC

In the days leading up to the Iowa Caucus Internet users in the state had their choice of candidates to discuss on the internet and the results varied by social network.

Facebook users in Iowa talked about [Bernie Sanders](http://time.com/4201930/vampire-weekend-bernie-sanders-concert) more than any other presidential candidate in the hours leading up to the [Iowa caucuses](http://time.com/4203203/iowa-caucus-results-2016-donald-trump-ted-cruz-hillary-clinton-bernie-sanders/) on Monday, while Twitter users discussed Hillary Clinton and Ted Cruz the most.

From midnight to noon on Monday, Facebook tracked conversations among Iowans to determine the issues and candidates they were talking about. Sanders and the economy were most discussed, according to data from Facebook. The Democrat took up 42.2% of all the discussion about candidates in Iowa, with Republican front-runner [Donald Trump](http://time.com/4202291/iowa-caucus-polls-donald-trump-bernie-sanders-ted-cruz-hillary-clinton/?xid=homepage) coming in second at 21.7% of the conversation.

![Iowa Caucus results 2016](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt34dd752dc418066c/69887bc90a4a22212a9c8310/iowa_caucus_results_2016.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp)

Iowa Caucus results 2016 

When divided up by party, Sanders took 73% of the conversation among Democrats in Iowa, compared to Clinton trailed at 25%. The results were different on Twitter with Clinton making up the larger share of the conversation in Iowa with 52% compared to Sanders 43% in tweets dated Jan. 24-31, according to data from Twitter.

Trump reigned among the Republican candidates, with half of the conversation taking place on Facebook in Iowa about him. Cruz was in second with 23% and Rand Paul at 11%. Things were also different for Republicans on Twitter, as Cruz had more tweets sent about him in Iowa than Trump did at the end of January, besting the billionaire by 1% of the conversation.


On the issues, Iowans were most concerned about the economy, at 16%, but same-sex marriage and Clinton’s controversial private email server were close behind at 10% and 9%, respectively.

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