Political communication on TikTok is taking a very different turn from what we are used to on other channels. Here the tones are much more incorrect, shouted and certainly even offensive. We have analyzed the content published in recent weeks.
The case started from Action. The party led by Carlo Calenda. Central program, clear but moderate tones, not wild. On TikTok Action has a profile from 43,000 followers with 6.8 million likes. A good coverage, also considering that in the polls it is now quite fixed at around 3%. In recent days a post featuring the protagonist was published on this profile Ilaria SalisMEP elected with Greens and Left Alliance. In one photo there was her, in the other a bar of soap. The phrase was: “The PERFECT dress to terrorize Ilaria Salis this Halloween”. Post then deleted with a series of excuses. It wasn’t a moment of madness from the social media manager or the result of the first shift covered by the new intern. It’s just the latest chapter in a new way that political parties are using to speak to their audiences on TikTok.
The first flirtations between politics and this social network began in 2019. The first was Matteo Salvini in November of 2019. Then others followed. For a while they published some videos, mainly taken by Instagram profiles. In 2022, a few weeks before the political elections, the parties tried to rediscover this social network. Even with a slightly awkward effect. Tempted by reaching a younger audience, they tried to compete with this platform. Historic video of Silvio Berlusconiarrived on the platform with “Hi guys, here I am. I welcome you to my official TikTok channel”. Some had kept, some had abandoned after a year. But now the landscape has changed a lot.
Analysis of communication strategies on TikTok
We focus on the profiles of the parties, without touching those of the leaders. In addition to Action we find a bit of everyone, some verified and others not: Alloy (251,000 followers), Brothers of Italy (472,000 followers), Forza Italia (51,000 followers), PD (107,000 followers), M5S (232,000 followers), AVS (4,000 followers), Italy Viva (92,000 followers) e National Future (87,000 followers). In most of the flow on these profiles come republished the same materials which are found on Instagram. Nothing significant. Excerpts from speeches, cards with results/accusations against the government or slogans which we then also find in official communication campaigns.
And then there is a more or less large share of content produced specifically for this platform. Here you are. Here’s the problem. On TikTok there is a line of content that goes far beyond the tones used in public or on social media followed by a more adult audience. There are insults, homophobic insults, racist comments. There are direct attackssometimes vulgar. Even from those who adopt a very different communication style on talk shows. It seems like TikTok is being treated as one unofficial spacewhere you can make compromises to get some more interaction. Difficult to see the results, given that the most active parties with content dedicated to this platform I’m not exactly leading the polls.
Some examples, with a premise. We have left the link to all the videos because sometimes the description does not make it clear enough connection between images and text:
- Alloy | Video: A horde of black men riding pigs. Description: “What the shopkeeper in Milan sees on a Saturday afternoon:”.
- Italia Viva | Video: Renè Ferretti of Boris saying: “My goodness, the rubbish I’ve done. Long live the s*rda!”. Description: How these 4 years of records of the Meloni Government have sounded
- Alloy | Video: Man dancing. Description: “How does it feel to have a personal hygiene shop in Milan these days. Maranza and social centers won’t have the courage to attack them.”
- Action | Video: Bodybuilder Chris Bumstead poses and shows off his muscles. Description: “Mistakes make you stronger.” Vannacci’s parents:”
- Action | Video: Sequence of photos with Matteo Salvini with Benjamin Netanyahu, with a t-shirt with Vladimir Putin, with Victor Orban, with Donald Trump. Description “Pea eater, 2026”. A disclaimer here: the last photo in the sequence is of Georges de La Tour actually eating bowls of peas. The interpretation is obviously dubious.
- Brothers of Italy | Video: Shrek the ogre listening to music and smiling. Description: “When you hear that the Meloni government wants to remove subsidies from Maranza families”.
