uCampaign, the operating name of Political Social Media LLC,[1] is a Washington-based web development startup that produces apps for United States Republican campaigns.[2] The company has produced apps for dozens of right-wing campaigns and organizations, including: Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, the Republican National Committee, the Family Research Council,[2] the National Rifle Association, and Senator Rand Paul.[1] uCampaign produced similar apps for President Donald Trump (known as America First) and the primary campaign of Senator Ted Cruz.[3][1] News organizations raised privacy concerns over how the apps collected broad user data beyond the apps' stated purpose.[4][5] Outside of the United States, their apps are used by conservative political parties and anti-abortion groups in Australia, Canada, and Europe,[2] including an app in support of Brexit.[1] uCampaign charges a single fee for the base app and monthly maintenance thereafter.[2]

Their apps use concepts from video games to induce users towards specific actions with badges, points, and social recognition as rewards, a concept known as gamification. For example, in uCampaign's National Rifle Association app, the player is awarded points for sending messages to elected officials.[6]

The company's chief executive, Thomas Peters, is a Catholic blogger and former web developer. He founded the company in 2014 from his earlier experiences working as a Conservative activist in 2012 and frustrations at the success of the Obama campaign's digital campaigning. Peters received $150,000 in seed funding from Sean Fieler, a hedge fund president and prominent donor to Conservative organizations.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Warren, Christina (August 22, 2016). "Amazingly, Donald Trump's New App Is Not a Joke". Gizmodo. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Singer, Natasha; Confessore, Nicholas (October 20, 2018). "Republicans Find a Facebook Workaround: Their Own Apps". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
  3. ↑ Timm, Jane C. (August 31, 2016). "New Trump app wants you and your data". NBC News. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  4. ↑ Chmielewski, Dawn (March 11, 2016). "Security Flaws Found (And Fixed) in Cruz Campaign App". Recode. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  5. ↑ Lomas, Natasha (July 30, 2018). "One more thing re: 'privacy concerns' raised by the DCMS fake new report". TechCrunch. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  6. ↑ "The NRA Has a Secret Weapon to Fight Gun Control: A Powerful App". AdAge. March 1, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
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