On 6 September, Saxony-Anhalt held elections for a new state parliament. Dr. Azade Kakavand, a researcher at the Social Media Observatory of the Research Institute Social Cohesion, examined the parties’ presence on TikTok in the run-up to the election. She explains on the programme Das Medienmagazin (radioeins, rbb) how the Alternative for Germany (AfD) was able to achieve significant reach on TikTok.
Click here to listen to the programme in German.
In the interview, she explains that it is generally advantageous for political parties to maintain a continuous presence on TikTok, not just during election campaigns. ‘Political parties are no different from influencers; they too must constantly interact with the algorithm and keep posting in order to remain visible.’
The AfD has been using the TikTok platform actively for a long time. A large portion of its reach comes from individual accounts. For instance, Ulrich Siegmund’s account, the lead candidate, reaches a larger audience than Alice Weidel’s, the party and parliamentary group chairwoman.
What is notable about Siegmund’s presence is that it combines professional video production with populist communication strategies. He also links online and offline campaigning, for instance by sharing videos of the party’s campaign booths.
Azade Kakavand explains that the AfD’s high reach can also be attributed to TikTok’s platform logic, which favours emotionally charged content. However, the data does not allow us to conclude that TikTok was the deciding factor in the outcome of the state election in Saxony-Anhalt. Firstly, it is important to consider that not all of the followers come from Saxony-Anhalt. Secondly, only a small number of people use TikTok to get news — according to the latest Reuters Institute Digital News Report, the figure is 7 percent. Azade Kakavand comments: ‘That’s not actually that much. But TikTok is popular among young people. That alone, however, cannot explain the overall election success in Saxony-Anhalt. We still need more information about how TikTok functions during election campaigns.”
This interview is based on a blog post by Azade Kakavand and Tet Turiy, which presents a detailed analysis of all political parties.