From EUobserver · · 1m
Young Men and Women's Political Shifts
TikTok experiments reveal young women lean far left, men far right in German elections.
In brief
TikTok experiments reveal young women lean far left, men far right in German elections. German teens found TikTok quickly shifts their political views toward far-right parties, highlighting gender-based political divides. Originally reported by EUobserver.
TikTok Experiment Begins
Greta and Lena, 16-year-old girls from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, deleted social media apps to test political content on TikTok during Germany's state elections.
“On 1 January, we both deleted Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat. And whichever of us would be the first to start watching Reels again or download Instagram would have to eat a slice of rotten cheese”
Political Content Emerges
After watching non-political videos for minutes, Greta and Lena encountered Erich Honecker and AfD co-leader Alice Weidel on TikTok during the election campaign.
Shift to Far-Right Content
Greta noticed her TikTok feed rapidly changed to far-right content, including AfD videos, without prior search for political material.
“I feel as if it is constantly just AfD”
Algorithm-Driven Divide
TikTok algorithms accelerated political polarization, with young women increasingly exposed to far-right content while young men lean far right in German state elections.
Election Results Confirm Trend
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern allowed 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in state elections, with AfD sweeping the state as young men lean far right and women far left.
The big picture
German teens found TikTok quickly shifts their political views toward far-right parties, highlighting gender-based political divides.
