President Biden officially joined TikTok, posting a video during the Super Bowl and announcing his arrival on the platform with a bio declaring “Grows the economy.” The account is run by Team Biden-Harris, the name for the reelection effort, and will be posting content regularly as it does on other social channels including Threads, Instagram, Facebook, X and Truth Social, according to campaign advisers. Biden’s team has leaned hard into memes in attempts to connect with young people, with the president’s avatar featuring a black and white photo with laser eyes, popularized by the “Dark Brandon” meme which portrays Biden as a no nonsense super hero schooled in the dark art of politics.
The success of TikTok in connecting with young voters has triggered a rush among political figures to leverage the platform to influence the midterm elections and engage with its vast audience. Last year, a group of TikTok creators spent an hour in the Oval Office in a private meeting with the president, organized by the Democratic National Committee, to leverage TikTok’s audience to influence the midterms. The platform has also become a hub for progressive activism, even though some young creators have used it to criticize Biden’s policies on climate change, the war in Gaza, and his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. The importance of TikTok as a powerful political platform is highlighted by the fact that Biden’s reelection campaign is seeking a director of digital partnerships to work with creators on TikTok and other social platforms to amplify his message and reach key voting blocs.
Whether it’s the content from the president or work with creators, the White House has embraced the platform as a way to appear in the feed in an authentic, organic, and surprising manner. The White House has a dedicated team for forging partnerships with content creators and has realized the potential of the work they do with creators, as it has amassed more than 93 million followers across platforms.
Overall, the influence of TikTok as a platform for political engagement and activism is solidified by President Biden joining the platform and his team actively seeking to connect with young voters through memes and other engaging content. The continuing success of using TikTok to connect with new audiences and engage young voters has proven that influencers can indeed move the needle on political campaigns.
