Activists are turning to TikTok ahead of the highly-anticipated Georgia Senate runoffs. The races, currently underway during the state’s early voting period, have forced candidates from both parties to get creative in their campaigning efforts amid the pandemic.
TikTok surged in popularity since the start of the pandemic. The social media platform which allows users to create short video clips using a variety of filters and effects, followed the lead of other platforms in banning paid political ads. The platform allows users to discuss their own opinions, however, and doesn’t limit users from posting unpaid political content.
For groups like MemePAC, a Democratic teen-centered activist group, they’re using TikTok to engage with young voters and share memes that mock Donald Trump. The TikTokers For Biden account has 200 million followers, according to a report by The Source. The Republican-leaning Conservative Hype House account has 1.5 million followers on the platform. Both parties, along with their TikTok accounts have their eyes on Georgia.
Alicia Novoa, director of engagement at the Future Coalition, a youth-led political group, said that some of the same campaign techniques from November’s election are being used during the Senate runoffs. “I think we’re really building off of that momentum that we’ve built up and going a step further and really becoming creative with it and letting young people take the lead,” Novoa said in an interview with The Hill.
Novoa also shared that Future Coalition partnered with a group called Gen-Z for Change, which used to be TikTok for Biden, on a virtual event where group members did phone and text banking to support Democratic candidates Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock.
The “Tok the Vote” campaign is a nonpartisan effort used to get young people registered to participate in the runoffs. While the campaign’s direct impact is unclear, a record number of new voters have already registered and cast their ballot in the January 5 runoff race.
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