(iPoster) Populism on TikTok: How It Helped US Presidential Campaigns

• In Event: Poster Session: Political Psychology I & II
  In Poster Session: Poster Session: Political Psychology I

Abstract

Populism became a pathological syndrome and a detriment to democracy. As shown in the recent US presidential campaign, its deliberative magnitude attained a significant mobilizing effect, which deserves scholarly attention. I contend that political emotions should be stressed as the analytical focus by looking into the campaign progress and contingent episodes of MAGA, which were prevalently circulated in TikTok. Through personalized social media platforms, people reimagined their positions following political events so that diverse arrays of affects engendered and widely resonated. I especially investigate how blame and pride were reconfigured into people’s narratives when moral stands were taken against institutions and elites.

Author

• Ying Zheng, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies