Among the novel platforms, TikTok has established itself not only as a source of fun and most popular trends but as a factor in political life as well. Due to the company’s population of billions of users, the majority of whom belong to the younger generation, TikTok has become an influential platform for political campaigns, which helps candidates get in touch with the electorate, and come up with exciting ideas.

Teodorescu, a political strategist for Romanian political figure Georgescu, known for pioneering marketing campaigns on TikTok, has been widely appreciated and criticized for his efforts. However, increased risks associated with the app with regard to national security have prompted leaders such as in Romania to request the suspension of TikTok.

TikTok’s viral nature allows politicians like Georgescu to bypass traditional media, engaging directly with voters, especially the youth and diaspora.

Thus, the use of TikTok in political campaigns can be attributed to social media platforms as the key platforms in political communication. TikTok has over a billion active users all around the world and the site’s algorithm is essentially based on sharing specific content with millions of people, so the videos may get views even if the account owner has few followers. In making TikTok an appealing opportunity for politicians, this viral capability can create an appealing option for expanding the target demographic.

Like other politicians around the world, those in Romania appreciate the ways that TikTok undermines conventional forms of division between politicians and citizens. While sharing short and funny videos, politicians can go around the mass media and discuss with the audience in a manner that is familiar and familiarized by the everyday ‘language’.

Georgescu, a young aspiring Romanian politician is one of those who has successfully incorporated TikTok into his electoral campaign. The flow of his campaign is therefore humorous, relatable, current, and appropriately in tune with the format of the application. Employing TikTok, unlike the conventional campaigning approaches, Georgescu is devoid of his political personality of the robotic aspect.

He makes videos on vlogs based on his everyday life, politics explained in layman’s terms, and reactions to current trends. His approach has been able to engage the youths who normally turn a blind eye to most political discourses. By using this social platform, Georgescu learns how to position himself as a politician who is quite familiar with the issues youth encounter in their everyday lives, therefore they learn to cast their vote for him.

The app facilitates interactive Q&A sessions, fostering voter engagement and creating an open, relatable political atmosphere.

Using TikTok during modern political campaigning, Georgescu shares an essential strategy for reaching the target audience. The platform’s option to cause viral moments may be an effective asset in the pursuit of attention, more so in the context of election campaigns. As opposed to print or television outlets which may come with editorial policies limiting the access of the public, TikTok offers a more creative orifice to the public.

One venue is Verschuren through which politicians can express themselves and communicate their messages in an unpolished and spontaneous manner. This can make them seem sincerer, which might help build rapport with the audience, and in turn, potential voters.

In addition, TikTok is not only a national platform where people can share their views, but politicians can also convey their messages to international audiences. According to Georgescu, TikTok is helpful not only in reaching the Romanian voters at home but also the Romanian diaspora who vote, the latter group that is often disregarded despite its significance.

Thus, through using TikTok, Georgescu was not only able to connect with the target audience base very actively using social networks but also reached the audience that may be less sensitive to standard political advertising.

Romanian officials fear TikTok’s data collection poses a national security risk due to its connection with Chinese parent company ByteDance.

By being visual and providing interactivity, TikTok also allows political campaigns to engage voters in ways that are beyond a speech or an advertisement. For example, Georgescu has been using TikTok to conduct question-and-answer sessions, where fans are free to ask questions directly.

During these sessions the voters can make different statements and watch, how their problems are being solved on the spot; this creates a sort of open-vote atmosphere. Such interaction may be most popular among young people lacking motivation in more conventional means of political participation.

Although the app works as a powerful political promoting instrument, it also plays an important part in political discussion which is controversial. Like many others, Romania has been seeing the risks associated with the platform and questioning its presence on security and privacy grounds. The Romanian government has been increasingly concerned about the connection between TikTok and China, where it is controlled by ByteDance.

TikTok’s dual role as a political tool and a security concern fuels debates about social media’s influence on political processes.

The U.S. government has expressed alarm that data of TikTok users risks being plundered by Chinese state actors for security. Threats are seen as emanating from the preponderance of ownership of TikTok by Byte Dance, a Chinese company suspected of passing user data to its home government. Romania is joining the list of countries that are doubtful about the potential of getting the TikTok platform suspended.

These concerns have prompted Romania to demand the ban of TikTok arguing that its functioning poses a major threat to the privacy and safety of Romanians. TikTok government officials fear the app can use the collected data for political manipulation given that social networks are now increasingly becoming integrated into political processes. This has created a discussion in society as to the responsibility of social networks to form opinions and whether this is in Britain’s interest to control or even ban these platforms.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. They do not represent the views, beliefs, or policies of the Stratheia.