TikTok: A new political playground

Netanyahu has most followers; Michaeli, Odeh among those who get significant amount of views on youth-oriented video-based platform

From across the spectrum, politicians are flocking to the TikTok social media platform.

Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu, Transportation Minister Merav Michaeli and Joint List MK Ayman Odeh are among those who have a significant following on the youth-oriented video-based platform.

TikTok favors short videos from 15-60 seconds long. Released in 2016, the app reached two billion downloads in February 2020. The app has exploded into the market, with studies showing most users in Israel are between 13 and 24.

“It has brought the fun factor back to social media,” explained Topaz Luk, Netanyahu’s social media manager.

Luk dismissed the idea that politicians are adopting TikTok solely to pursue future voters, explaining that while many on the platform will be children, their accounts may be controlled and monitored by their parents, who will also see the content.

Michaeli is one of the most adept TikTok posters. One video saw her blur her own face to make a sharp point about haredi (ultra-Orthodox) newspapers and websites that had blurred her face in their publications when she was named part of the government this month. The video was not posted on her Facebook page despite Michaeli having more viewers there than on TikTok.

Defense Minister Benny Gantz made a self-satirizing video where he chose what clothes to wear between several black polo shirts. It got 182,000 views on his account.

A Labor Party media representative shared this sentiment and spoke of being more able to make jokey content on the platform, adding that Michaeli was suited to it because of her outgoing personality.

“This is a tool to reach as many people as we can without having to beg any editor or anyone to please put our message out,” he said.

TikTok is seen as a better platform for accounts officially affiliated with politicians or companies, compared to Facebook, which is perceived as making it harder for big accounts and favoring the accounts of individuals.

The TikTok feature that is known as the “For You Page” is what the influence-seekers are all aiming for. This is a place where the TikTok algorithm will suggest videos of content creators it thinks users will like based on past interactions. Once content creators reach the For You Page, they can both reach new audiences and consolidate those already engaged, making it desirable and significant to those looking for influence.

To reach the page, politicians will have to create content for a wide potential audience but must also appear personable and engaging.

Content creators such as Netanyahu and Michaeli have leaned into this and chosen to create mostly unique content designed to perform well on TikTok.

Another reason why politicians may have moved to the platform is because TikTok, compared to Facebook and Instagram, has a far higher monthly average time spent on the platform.

In terms of followers, Netanyahu has significantly more than any other Israeli political figure with 345,000 followers, compared to Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, a relative newcomer, who has 31,000 followers.

Being a content creator on TikTok is not limited to just posting video content. Recently, Bennett replied to a video by the account @shirazshukrun, an Israeli influencer and TikToker with almost 200,000 followers and over 100,000 subscribers on YouTube. He replied in her comment section just days after he was sworn in as prime minister, posting that she is “the pride of Israel.”

TikTok may well continue to change how and where political battles are fought in the future.