Short answer
A satellite campaign is an organisation that campaigns for a party without being part of it. The best-known British example is Momentum, formed to support Jeremy Corbyn's leadership of the Labour Party. On Facebook in 2017 it did a different job from Labour's own pages: instead of asking for votes, it asked people to campaign.
What the evidence shows
- In the month before the 2017 general election, 85% of the Labour Party page's posts asked for a vote, 66% made a pledge and 80% used the party slogan.
- Momentum asked for a vote in 12% of its posts. About half its posts asked people to help on the doorstep, volunteer or sign up to campaign, against 3% to 7% on Labour's pages.
- Momentum used humour in about a quarter of its posts.
- Corbyn's own page sat between the two: close to the party page overall, but where it differed, it differed in Momentum's direction, with less policy, fewer calls to vote, more news clips and more attacks on the opposition leader.
- Outside elections, Momentum's page in 2018 shifted towards an internal campaign role, marshalling supporters rather than persuading voters.
Caveats
These findings come from hand-coded posts from one election and one satellite organisation. Other satellites, in other parties or countries, may behave differently.
Read the research
What Does a Satellite Campaign Do? Momentum, the Labour Party and Jeremy Corbyn on Facebook in the 2017 General Election
AbstractPDFFrom the Doorstep to the Debate: Momentum's Facebook Page in the 2017 General Election and the 2018 Permanent Campaign
AbstractPDFHow do political parties use Facebook and what does it offer to their campaigns
AbstractPDF