Nearly every other first-time voter consumes political content on TikTok, a sharp increase from the previous election, according to a report from the Internetstiftelsen. The platform is believed to become a key platform in the autumn election, the report states. TikTok was not mentioned in the Moderates' election plan for the previous election but became one of the most important channels in the campaign, according to Martin Borgs, the Moderates' election leader.
The online conversation climate is having a chilling effect on political participation. One in four first-time voters has refrained from political engagement due to the online conversation climate, the Internetstiftelsen report found. Over one in five Swedes has refrained from expressing opinions online due to fear of harsh criticism, hate, or threats, the same report indicates.
Likes are not the same thing as votes.
Facebook is the platform where the proportion consuming political content has decreased the most, the Internetstiftelsen report shows. Meta's new ban on paid advertising of political content on Facebook and Instagram is a reason for this decrease. The large media platforms have banned political parties from advertising since last autumn, according to Emelie Schröder, the Social Democrats' communications chief.
Among young voters, the Sweden Democrats have established a strong position. In the last two parliamentary elections, the Moderates became the largest party in the age group 18–21, Martin Borgs noted. However, the Social Democrats came in third place among young voters in the last election, after the Sweden Democrats, Emelie Schröder stated. The Sweden Democrats have the most followers on TikTok among parliamentary parties.
At its core, politics is about earning people's trust, and that is best done through conversation.
Political parties are adapting to these digital communication challenges. Several political parties in Örebro municipality are on TikTok. According to SVT Örebro, Martha Wicklund, a municipal councilor for the Left Party, described TikTok as a channel where they reach out. Karolina Wallström, another municipal councilor, told SVT Örebro that they have prospective voters on TikTok in the form of first-time voters. More people will work with digital communication in the Social Democrats' communications department for this election than in any previous election campaign, Emelie Schröder said.
Artificial intelligence is playing a dual role in the political landscape. Nearly every other Swede finds it difficult to determine if political content is created with AI, the Internetstiftelsen report reveals. AI can also help voters understand how their opinions align with different parties' policies, the report suggests.
It went very fast in that way. And it also shows that exactly how the social media landscape looks on election day we don't know now.
Considering how big we are and what ambitions we have, we cannot choose to exclude any channel, we need to be seen and heard everywhere.
It is very important for us this election, but also going forward, to be strong and move forward among young voters.
It was of course convenient to be able to pay for reach, now you have to ensure that you to an even greater extent earn it. You have to be very good at adapting your content for the right channel.
TikTok rewards strong content in a different way, that's why it's possible to go from zero to millions on TikTok if you are skilled enough.
We see that especially TikTok is a channel where we reach out.
We have prospective voters on TikTok in the form of first-time voters.
It has shown on several occasions that likes are not the same thing as votes.