27 June 2024
From “FYP” to Ballot Box: TikTok and Indonesia’s 2024 General Elections
Executive Summary
TikTok played an integral role in Indonesia’s 2024 general elections as a channel for politicians and political parties to distribute information. The platform also provided an opportunity for image rebranding and served as an arena for an information battle. TikTok’s unique algorithm allows non-official accounts, and even those with small numbers of followers, to create viral content and deliver it to a wider audience beyond a particular account’s own followers. This was also the case with viral content on TikTok during Indonesia’s 2024 general elections, with official accounts not always being the sole initiator of the spread of such content. Owing to this feature, TikTok is able to help political figures reach audiences beyond their original constituents. TikTok has a first-mover advantage by creating a strong social media content loop, which can also easily lead to acceptance of post-truth information. The combination of this advantage and TikTok’s video-based nature has established the social media platform as an effective tool to exploit its users’ emotions.
Executive Summary
TikTok played an integral role in Indonesia’s 2024 general elections as a channel for politicians and political parties to distribute information. The platform also provided an opportunity for image rebranding and served as an arena for an information battle. TikTok’s unique algorithm allows non-official accounts, and even those with small numbers of followers, to create viral content and deliver it to a wider audience beyond a particular account’s own followers. This was also the case with viral content on TikTok during Indonesia’s 2024 general elections, with official accounts not always being the sole initiator of the spread of such content. Owing to this feature, TikTok is able to help political figures reach audiences beyond their original constituents. TikTok has a first-mover advantage by creating a strong social media content loop, which can also easily lead to acceptance of post-truth information. The combination of this advantage and TikTok’s video-based nature has established the social media platform as an effective tool to exploit its users’ emotions.
