Exploring TikTok's role in political discourse: A content analysis of GE15 and SE2023 in Malaysia
List of Authors
  • Fadzilla Hernani Mohd Janis , Saheera Sardar Mohamed

Keyword
  • Tiktok Post, Content Analysis, Political Content, GE15, SE2023

Abstract
  • TikTok is a social media platform that gained immense popularity and particularly favored by the younger population in Malaysia for its interesting feature focused on short video content. The latest trend in the political environment in Malaysia during Malaysia's 15th General Election and State Election 2023 is that TikTok has become a major platform for political parties and individuals to promote their respective sides. This study highlights how politicians from political parties and individuals have used TikTok as an election campaign platform to promote their political stance. The method used for this study is qualitative content analysis, utilizing purposive sampling by leveraging the TikTok post. Filter and hashtag were used to filter the posts taken from TikTok. This research applied five main themes and 20 subthemes adopted based on the literature review search. It was found that most of the political content in TikTok was in the form of entertainment meant to engage with the younger audience. Meanwhile, most of the political content associated with the political involvement of Malaysian youth was informational content posted by politicians and experienced voters.

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