The Biden campaign has created a TikTok account as part of an effort to appeal to younger voters.
In his first video, posted during the Super Bowl, President Biden responded to questions such as “Jason Kelce or Travis Kelce,” “games or commercials,” and “Trump or Biden.” The video received 4.2 million views and was captioned simply: “lol hey guys”.
Despite its conflicts with TikTok, owned by China-based Bytedance, Biden’s re-election campaign is active on the platform. The administration had previously urged TikTok to sever ties with its parent company to avoid a potential ban in the U.S.
Last year, U.S. federal agencies instructed government officials to uninstall TikTok from their work devices. Some notable Democrats like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Cory Booker use TikTok for sharing political content.
Biden’s campaign advisors stated that they are utilizing various platforms to convey their message effectively leading up to the upcoming election.
OpenAI, Google, Microsoft and others join the Biden-Harris AI safety consortium
The campaign is embracing social media and memes, including a Super Bowl-themed post that referenced conspiracy theories, Taylor Swift, and Biden’s re-election bid. Engaging on platforms like TikTok is crucial for reaching young voters, as 63% of teens in the U.S. use the app.
The integrity of social media platforms during global elections will likely be a key discussion point. TikTok, which doesn’t allow paid political ads, has nonetheless seen voter misinformation circulating. TikTok and Meta have outlined strategies to combat misinformation, but their effectiveness remains to be seen.
Topics
TikTok
Politics
Meera is a Culture Reporter at Mashable, joining the UK team in 2021. She writes about digital culture, mental health, big tech, entertainment, and more. Her work has also been published in The New York Times, Vice, Vogue India, and others.
