The Political Influence of TikTok

TikTok. The social media app with over 80 million daily active U.S. users has held the #1 and #2 spots in U.S. quarterly app downloads since the beginning of 2019, according to marketing agency MediaKix. The popularity of the platform has boomed since its global release in 2017, due to its viral dance and comedy videos, among other trends. In fall of 2020, the app hit a rough patch when President Trump made repeated efforts to ban TikTok over security concerns. Nevertheless, the app has prevailed.

As TikTok continues to grow, the diversity of content on the platform grows with it. U.S. politics has become a major content topic, especially with the divisiveness of the current election cycle. "Every time I get on my [for you page] and start scrolling to watch stuff, something political is bound to come up right now,” said Adam Colvin, an SMC student studying music and photography.

There are multiple ways that political content is expressed on TikTok. These include widely circulating jokes and trends that all kinds of people participate in, content creators who focus mainly on politics, actual politicians on the app, and news and media outlets. Each of these types of content contains a mixture of political humor, opinions, and news.

The jokes and trends that often circulate on TikTok are the most common form of political content, a recent example being the first presidential debate. In the hours and days following the debate, videos about it flooded the platform from all types of creators. Some gave their opinions on Trump’s and Biden’s performances, some made jokes about how chaotic it was, and some highlighted the most entertaining moments and shocking lines from the two candidates.

Even more staggering was the surge of videos after President Trump tested positive for COVID-19. Some creators attempted to make sense of the situation and relay the news to their viewers, and some offered their opinion on the situation as more information was learned. However, most of the videos in the days following the president’s announcement made jokes pointing out the glaring irony of the situation, given that the president has publicly downplayed the virus despite knowing of its dangers and purposely flouted public health guidelines regarding events and personal safety. In addition, the news of former White House advisor Kellyanne Conway contracting COVID-19 was first revealed by her daughter, Claudia Conway, in a video she uploaded on TikTok for her 1.3 million followers. The video, which now has 4.4 million views, features Claudia Conway wearing a mask and reads, “update my mom has covid.”

Another major political trend circulated TikTok back in June, when thousands of people reserved free tickets for President Trump’s rally in Tulsa with no intention of ever showing up, in order to embarrass the President and the campaign by making the stadium look empty. Information about this spread on multiple social media platforms, especially TikTok, and led to a large number of participants. Brad Parscale, former chairman of the Trump re-election campaign, tweeted that there had been over 1 million ticket requests. However, when the event came around, much of the main stadium and overflow areas were left empty. The Tulsa Fire Department later stated that only about 6,200 attendees actually entered the stadium.

An additional source of political content on the app comes from popular creators whose whole platform is based on politics. Although many of them take part in circulating trends and jokes as well, many have grown significant followings through the expression of their own political opinions and the personality and comedy they inject into their videos.

Some of these creators have joined together and formed group accounts dedicated to their shared views, such as the Republican and Democrat Hype Houses, along with other smaller groups on both sides of the political spectrum. These names are a take on “The Hype House," one of the first and most popular content creation groups on TikTok.

Politicians themselves also contribute to the ever-expanding political realm of TikTok. For example, U.S. Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) has over 24,000 followers. His campaign has stated that their goal is to connect with younger voters, and his videos often mention the Green New Deal, the major climate plan he co-sponsored, in hopes that it will appeal to young progressives. Minnesota State Senator Matt Little, who has gained over 157,000 followers, posts energetic videos highlighting his work in the Minnesota Senate and his political views, also hoping to connect with younger voters.

Further adding to the political narrative and information on TikTok are news and media outlets. NBC News, which has 181,000 followers, and NowThis Politics, which has 1 million followers, post clips of news segments and political events, reaching new audiences that they typically wouldn’t with their traditional television and online programming.

The Washington Post’s TikTok page, led by video producer Dave Jorgenson, uploads videos featuring reporters who work in their newsroom, catering to their 714,000 followers. Recently Jorgenson has made videos informing viewers on the different journalistic styles, as well as updating their audience on the news itself.

All of these various types of content suggest one main thing: the political realm of TikTok is incredibly influential. The TikTok videos on the hashtag #Biden2020 have almost 3 billion total views, and the videos on #Trump2020 have nearly 12 billion, not to mention the billions more views on other political hashtags.

This content’s influence on its audience could start to see some real effects in the future. As of September 2020, 62% of U.S. TikTok users are under the age of 29 (according to advertising agency Wallaroo Media). According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the average voter turnout rate among 18 to 24-year-olds since 1964 is about 32%, significantly lower than any other age group.

It is quite possible that the prevalence of political content on the app has and will continue to influence the opinions of the age group that is most represented on TikTok, but least represented in the polls. "I think it's really empowering to see a lot of young people interested in politics," says international SMC student Nicolas Orrego, one of the millions who spends time watching political content on TikTok and sees the extents of its reach.

TikTok has only existed for one U.S. election, the 2018 midterms. That was mostly before its large boom in popularity, which means that the effects of this app on politics and voter turnout are unknown. The results of the 2020 election and future election cycles — in the Presidency, Congress, and state and local offices — could show just how influential the political conversations happening on TikTok have been in getting young voters interested in their democracy.