Remember when SOPA, ACTA, PIPA and the other four letter acronyms for bills that were created to stifle the Internet were all the rage last year? Many politicians seemed to believe that the Internet needed to be controlled more than it already was, so they tried to push laws in place to help with that, only to face a major backlash that resulted in the bills being defeated.

Images of political leaders as everyday figures, involved in commonplace activities, now form an increasingly important aspect of electoral presentation. This text examines how and why selected political figures have embraced a populist agenda in a social context and addresses the scope and limitations of such an approach in the US and the UK.