On the face of it, the villain from “Shrek”, the English singer who became a TV presenter Cilla Black, and the national service have nothing in common.
But all of that is on display these days in the latest battleground of the UK general election: TikTok.
The ruling Conservatives and the opposition Labor Party both launched accounts on the video-sharing platform just days after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a general election for July 4.
Data security concerns – which led to the Chinese-owned ByteDance app being banned from government phones by 2023 – have prevented political parties from tapping into TikTok’s virality, until now.
However, the surprise election announcement on May 29 made it “necessary to be there, because of its popularity”, media consultant Tim Gatt said. AFP.
In less than a week, Labor’s account has amassed more than 120,000 followers. The Tories trailed by around 36,000 on May 29, when the smaller opposition Liberal Democrats joined.
Clashing closer
A smattering of videos on the Conservative page include Mr. Sunak talking to the camera about his promise to bring back the national service if they retain power.
The move – which requires 18-year-olds to join the military for 12 months or spend one weekend each month volunteering in the community – has become a hot topic on TikTok and has been opposed by many young users.
The Labor campaign is taking a slightly different approach, which experts say highlights the contrasting strategies and bets for Mr Sunak and Keir Starmer, who will become the country’s next leader after the election.
One Labor TikTok post used a clip from the film “Shrek” showing petty villain Lord Farquaad saying “Some of you may die, but that’s the sacrifice I’m willing to make”.
The video’s caption reads, “Rishi Sunak announces national service”, with the video garnering over 2.5 million views in just a few days.
Other reactions to the announcement featured the late Cilla Black singing the theme song for the long-running light entertainment program “Surprise, Surprise”.
Other posts used clips from Mr. Sunak’s shaky start to his national campaign, including an election announcement during heavy rain.
Labour’s meme-heavy approach is very different from its strategy on other social media platforms, says Andrew Chadwick, professor of political communication at Loughborough University.
“The cutting edge of wacky videos – the ones that take risks – are happening on TikTok right now. And I think that’s new,” he said.
In contrast, he found the Tory TikTok campaign “quite dull”.
However, Mr Gatt said Mr Sunak’s “traditional” approach was “well thought out”.
“He’s trying to present himself, as I understand it, as someone who has a plan at a very serious time for the world,” said Mr Gatt, who has previously managed digital communications for various government departments.
“They will try and show the original way. Authenticity and credibility are the keys to TikToks success.”
a new audience
While the last few general election campaigns have focused on social media, especially Facebook and Twitter, this is the first election where TikTok will be in the spotlight.
Only 1% of British adults will use TikTok for news in 2020, according to the country’s media regulator Ofcom.
That figure rose to 10% last year, making TikTok the UK’s fastest growing news source.
The audience on TikTok has also gone beyond young people. “The perception of more liberal, left-wing, younger TikTok users may not be true,” Mr Gatt said.
Now ahead of the Tories and Labour, the party with the highest TikTok is Reform UK, the anti-immigration right-wing populist party that claims to be the “new Conservatives”.
Adding a new layer, on TikTok, unlike Facebook and Twitter, political advertising is prohibited. This also means that parties cannot buy ads to target specific audiences.
However, they are “dependent on the TikTok algorithm and regular users”, Mr Chadwick said, adding to the pressure to adapt to the new environment.
For Mr Chadwick, “Labor has got a better understanding of it at this point” because they are producing the kind of content that “wouldn’t be seen in advertising”.
The lack of paid political advertising on the platform also leaves room for unpredictability in how TikTok campaigns can influence elections.
“They cannot control the environment in the same way they have learned to control online advertising during the campaign through the recent election cycle,” said Mr. Chadwick.
