Right groups are more isolated in communities, research reveals. But politics in Tiktok tends to direct us to the extremes.
People in Tiktok tend to follow accounts that align with their own political beliefs, which means that the platform is creating echo political chambers among its users.
These conclusions, from one published in the magazine New Media & Societyshow that People listen above all voices with which they already agree.
Researchers have analyzed the structure of different political networks in Tiktok and we found that right -wing communities are more isolated from other traditional political groups and media. Observing their internal structures, these right -wing communities are more interconnected with each other than left -wing communities.
In other words, Conservative Tiktok users tend to stay together. They rarely follow accounts with opposite opinions or accounts of conventional media. Liberal users, on the other hand, are more likely to follow a more varied account of accounts, including some with which they may not agree.
The study is based on a huge data set, with More than 16 million Tiktok videosfrom over 160,000 public accounts between 2019 and 2023. We found a peak of political videos at Tiktok during US presidential elections in 2020. More importantly, people are not just passively watching political content; They are also actively creating these contents.
Some people are more vocal about politics than others. We have found that users with more watered political positions and those who receive more tastes and comments in their videos are more motivated to continue publishing.
This shows the power of partisanship, but also the power of Tiktok’s social rewards system. Signs of involvement – tastes, shares, comments – work as fuel, encouraging users to create even more content.
Why is it important?
People resort to Tiktok not just to have fun. A recent study by the Pew Research Center shows that almost 40% of adults in the US with under 30 years get news regularly at Tiktok. The question is: what kind of news is consuming and what does this mean to how they get involved in politics?
Tiktok content often comes from creators and influencers or native digital means. The quality of these news remains uncertain. Without access to balanced and fact -based information, people can have difficulty making informed political decisions.
In full debate on the eventual prohibition of Tiktok, the study underlines how the platform can be a Two -edged knife in political communication. It is encouraging to see people to participate in politics through Tiktok when this is the way they prefer.
However, if the network of a user is closed and homogeneous and its expression serves only for validation within the group itself, it can contribute even more to solidify the political echo chamber.
When people are exposed to unilateral messages, this can increase hostility compared to other groups. In the long run, depending on Tiktok as a source of political information can deepen people’s political convictions and contribute to greater polarization.
The phenomenon has been widely studied on platforms like Twitter and Facebook, but similar investigations into Tiktok are still in an early stage. Tiktok is being increasingly scrutinated, especially with regard to its role in News production, political messages and social movements.
Tiktok has a unique shape, a algorithmic curatorship and an entertainment -oriented design. I believe your function as a political communication tool deserves a deeper exam.
What follows
In 2024, the Biden/Harris and Trump campaigns They joined Tiktok to reach younger voters. The research team is now analyzing how these political communication dynamics may have changed during the 2024 elections.
Future plates can resort to experiments to explore if these campaign videos significantly influence voter’s perceptions and behaviors.
