(Note – this article was written on June 14th)
Since 2019, the way the world consumes media has been transformed. So – with the impending General Election- what role does social media play when swaying those all important votes?
In the last election Amol Rajan released an article for the BBC , arguing that the 2019 election was one dominated by social media, primarily because of banners on YouTube and ads on Facebook. 2024 has rolled around and Ofcom reported that 10% of the UK population said they receive their news via TikTok. According to Data Reportal, there are over 22 million 18+ TikTok users in the UK, which- based on National Statistics– represents approximately a third of eligible voters.
According to Data Reportal, there are over 22 million 18+ TikTok users in the UK, which- based on National Statistics– represents approximately a third of eligable voters.
TikTok is classically percieved as a self-sufficient terrarium of ideas, opinions and user experiences, largely cut off from reality. When companies and organisations enter this conversation, it’s often rejected or considered cringe, before it’s message can be sold to users.
With that in mind, let’s assess the content the parties have cooked up to sway the opinions of young voters.
The Labour Party TikTok account has dominated this new field of propaganda. Making use of the fourteen years of ‘failures’ by the Conservatives, the Party have portrayed Rishi Sunak as a contestant on Would I Lie to You?, as a man who takes private helicopters not trains, and as a coke (acola) addict. All in all, the page, which first posted on 23/05/2024 has (on 09/06/2024) 187.8K followers and accumulated 4.4M likes.
Contrastingly, The Conservative Party’s TikTok posted for the first time 3 days after Labour on 26/05/2024, in an attempt to clear up the miscommunication with young people about their National Service plans. This comes after the plethora of fake news and satirical content that arose from the app about the topic. Since, @ukconservatives has gained 56.8K followers and the posts are doing very well on the app, there’s no guarantee though that any content by any Party will be well received by the highly critical TikTok users.
The Liberal Democrats’ TikTok doesn’t capitalise on the failures of other parties, instead it lightheartedly reports on the whereabouts of Ed Davey, and their new policies. This included ‘Where in the world is Ed Davey,’ ‘Rating the Doggoes we’ve met on the campaign trail’ and a slightly more serious piece about how the party leader balances his job and looking after his SEN son. This video also included serious clips about the loss of his parents and the love he holds for his family and friends. His reasons for being an MP, for wanting to make a change in the country, are powerfully driven by his story, stating: “This isn’t just my story, it’s the story of millions caring for each other, dealing with tough times, keeping going with love. That’s why I got into politics, that’s who the Liberal Democrats will fight for every day.” The Lib Dems may not have made such a large impression on the users of TikTok, with only 18.8K followers, but when seen, this content could be far more powerful than the satirical battle between Labour and the tories.
“This isn’t just my story, it’s the story of millions caring for each other, dealing with tough times, keeping going with love. That’s why I got into politics, that’s who the Liberal Democrats will fight for every day.”
Ed Davey
TikTok captures the public opinion of young people very effectively, where X often seems to be constrained to academics and the greatly opinionated, TikTok has a wonderful way of encouraging conversation, debate, and in capturing news in a palatable way.
It’s fair to say, though, that TikTok can easily spready false news, hate, and propaganda. The parties are making use of it, proving the power of this social media platform in serious politics- not just humerous content.
Interestingly, the content produced by all parties is a more casual event. Potential PMs have lost their ties and scrambled up plenty of videos targeting younger voters. Digital campaign trails have never been so important, but when Channel 4 conducted interviews with young people, their verdict was clear, “there’s a generational difference” and when they later interviewed Sean Topham he said: “It’ll be really interesting to see how the parties leverage [TikTok] and lean into it in the next few weeks.”
There’s still a long way to go with this election, only time will tell whether the UK parties can get the hang of algorithms, the lingo, and the trends, or whether their time on TikTok has arrived too late. Nonetheless, if anyone’s winning this election, it’s TikTok.
