Far-right AfD appears as strongest German party on TikTok
Politicians and figures linked to the far-right Alternative for Germany party use TikTok as a “parallel universe” to spread extremism, a study says. Meanwhile, other parties show “weak performance” on the platform.
Of all the parties represented in the German parliament the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) uses the youth social media platform TikTok the most, according to a study published Tuesday.
“We are observing masses of openly right-wing extremist symbols and codes on TikTok,” said Deborah Schnabel, the director of the Anne Frank Educational Center, which conducted the analysis.
“Time and again, accounts from the AfD or from the party’s environment are involved” in such content, Schnabel said.
AfD party leader Alice Weidel is one of the top five political influencers on TikTok, the study noted. AfD politician Ulrich Siegmund of the eastern German state of Saxony-Anhalt is in the first place with more 400,000 followers.
