The Tory party’s attempts to fight back on social media led it to launch the ‘Conservative Campaigner’ app last autumn.
In true Tory style, the app encourages users to compete among themselves by winning points, for example by sharing items on social media – and invites them to brag about their ‘achievements’ on their Facebook page or Twitter feed.
The fact that almost nobody has downloaded the app – currently only 500 for Android, according to the app’s ‘Play Store’ homepage – may just have something to do with the awkward nature of the Tories’ attempts to ‘get down with the kidz’:
However, it may also involve the fact that a large portion of the not-very-many reviews of the app are clearly from lefties having a little fun at the expense of the Tories’ out-of-touch efforts and providing commentary on the party’s ‘analog’ effects on the offline UK.
Crowding out the staid comments by apparently genuine Tory users that could almost be about the party rather than the app – ‘a tad clunky‘, ‘super annoying‘ – are nuggets by people who actually seem to get how social media works:
The occasional comment is more serious, but to similar effect:
While at least one comment would win a prize for ambiguity:
Sadly, the page for Apple devices only lets visitors see the most recent three reviews and doesn’t give a download total, although with only 85 ratings it seems likely to be on a par with the Android version for downloads. The last three reviewers – of which the most recent dates back to almost eight weeks ago – appear to have been serious.
The app’s developer is also of interest, boasting on its ‘support’ page of some interesting and almost exclusively right-wing ‘featured clients’, including Vote Leave, the US Republican Party, the National Rifle Association and the campaign to elect one Donald Trump for President:
It is currently unknown whether the app has the same security issue as the one issued by Tory MP Matt Hancock, which grants itself access to all users’ photos and possibly contacts list even if they deny permission.
Comment:
Such has been the lack of interest in the Tory campaign app that even the comedic left-wing comments date back a little while. But with such potential for fun it’s unlikely to be too long before new gems are added to counteract or highlight the bleak Tory worldview and the party’s continuing struggle to get to grips with the social media age.
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One baffled Tory complains about unhelpful reviews of the main Conservative app, “Why install the Conservative app if you don’t support them?”
Heh heh.
Checked out ‘The Conservative Party Denham’ app. Hey, I was there anyway – it’s not like I’m weakening.
1.0 stars, 2 reviews – both from our team 🙂
Maybe what makes the Cons so inept on social media and attempting to use it for bragging rights, is the only things they brag about are things they haven’t actually done, like “Making work pay”, and May’s latest brag about potential homes is a classic. Blagging bragging is not a good look.
Hilarious! A Tory App developed by the same outfit that created Apps for Trump ,The National Rifle Association and a whole bunch of largely American right-wing groups. It just can’t fail to be a big hit with young people over here in the UK what’s not to like about it?
It’s just Awesome daddyo! (I think that’s right)
this article is rather trite considering the danger the population of britain is in from tories and their rich friends – how many here know britain’s taxpayers are funding terrorists in syria? that channel4 and the bbc are the leading propagandists for the british war machine? FFS
Err… all of us? 🙂