Get the latest tech news

TikTok likely helped far right in elections: researchers


The AfD was twice as effective at reaching first-time voters on the app than all other parties combined, according to an analysis of platform data. This may explain why the party performed so well among young voters.

For their analysis, they created 30 fictitious TikTok profiles of users born in 2006 and living in Thuringia, Saxony, and Brandenburg, where regional elections were about to be held. At the same time, the researchers observed that the number of videos appearing in user feeds did not correlate with the total amount of content created by the parties. The AfD has been more active on TikTok than any other political party in the German parliament, according to a June 2024 study by the Anne Frank Educational Center.

Get the Android app

Or read this on r/technology

Read more on:

Photo of TikTok

TikTok

Photo of elections

elections

Photo of researchers

researchers

Related news:

News photo

TikTok ‘infinite money glitch’ on Chase Bank ATMs leads to major financial problems for those attempting it

News photo

Tired of airport security queues? SQL inject yourself into the cockpit, claim researchers

News photo

Child abuse images removed from AI image-generator training source, researchers say