The 2025 federal election campaign once again demonstrated how much the digital attention economy influences the media visibility of political parties, especially benefiting the radical right. Four articles published on the blog of the Research Institute Social Cohesion examine the mechanisms, strategies and platform dynamics employed by the radical right to gain media exposure, and consider ways to counter this. The analyses focus particularly on the TikTok platform. Additionally, the implementation of the Digital Services Act (DSA) is critically evaluated, especially with regard to restricted access to research data.
In their article, “Flood the Zone with Shit – Elon Musk, die AfD und das Agenda-Setting der radikalen Rechten im Bundestagswahlkampf2025” [Flood the Zone with Shit: Elon Musk, the Alternative for Germany (AfD), and the Agenda-Setting of the Radical Right in the 2025 German Federal Election Campaign], Jan Rau, Christoph Richter, and Daniel Wehrend explain how US billionaire Elon Musk’s communicative interventions have increased the media presence of Alice Weidel and the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. They also discuss how these dynamics are driven by mechanisms of the digital attention economy. Linking international actors with social networks and traditional media creates new dynamics in political discourse.
Two additional articles focus on the TikTok platform, where the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is particularly effective at reaching young audiences. Although all parties represented in the Bundestag are now present on the platform, it is clear that the AfD continues to dominate — not least through emotional short videos and an active supporter base. In their article “Bundestagswahl 2025 auf TikTok” [Bundestag Election 2025 on TikTok], Dr. Gregor Wiedemann and Philipp Kessling analyze this using their own data from the Social Media Observatory. Following this analysis, the article “Election Campaigning in Time with the Algorithm” explains why the AfD continues to be successful on TikTok and how other parties can strengthen democratic public spheres on the platform. Although the SPD, the Greens, and Die Linke were able to increase their reach toward the end of the election campaign, the authors emphasize that democratic parties should view TikTok as more than just a tactical tool for election campaigns. They should also consider it a strategic and permanent space for democratic public discourse. However, current analyses show that engagement by democratic parties has declined since the federal election.
In their article, “Art. 40 DSA and Research Data Access in the German Federal Election: A Mixed Experience at Best“, Jan Rau, Philipp Kessling, Gregor Wiedemann, and Felix Victor Münch discuss the implementation of the Digital Services Act (DSA). While the DSA is intended to increase transparency regarding platform data, the authors report restricted access, technical issues, and a lack of cooperation. These issues make it difficult to analyze digital risks in the context of elections.
The article illustrates the strong influence of social platforms on political visibility. However, they also demonstrate that democratic parties can increase their reach under the right conditions, provided they strategically utilize digital channels in the long term. At the same time, there is a need for regulation to ensure the quality of research and debate.
Illustration: Ditho Design GmbH