Clickbait meets populism and extremism: TikTok and politics — (28 min)
I provided an Invidious link, here is the originial: https://youtu.be/VeMhHtfe81s
TikTok is continuing its rapid growth. What political role does this platform play? Accounts operated by politicians from the Germany’s right-wing AfD and Austria’s right-wing FPÖ have the widest reach. At the same time, the parties are also gaining ground in election polls in Germany and Austria.
Clickbait meets populism and extremism: What will this lead to? Who is standing up to it, and at what cost? In the documentary “Reclaim - The Struggle for Democracy on TikTok,” we head into the populist rabbit hole. The team traveled to Austria and Germany and spoke to activists, political actors and experts such as sociologist Aladin El-Mafaalani and extremism researcher Julia Ebner. We show how right-wing populists use TikTok to spread their messages and shed light on the impact it has on the political landscape and on young people.
It’s hard to imagine democracy benefitting from any platform that prioritises content undemocratically.