Political humor on TikTok

Dutch political party leaders are Minecraft players, rappers, or simply silly, unserious individuals. At least, that is how they are represented in satirical sketches, lip syncing parodies, or memes. TikTok has increasingly become a creative outlet for creators to engage with politics. The platform has become one of the largest social media platforms, firmly embedding itself in the lives of Dutch citizens. TikTok becomes a groundbreaking stage where political conversations not only happen but also get embellished with a sparkle of humor. Given TikTok’s sociocultural impact and its growing role in shaping political narratives, understanding how TikTok creators navigate the political landscape is crucial. Therefore, this thesis aims to answer the research question: ‘How do TikTok- creators use humor in videos referring to politics during the Dutch parliamentary elections of 2023?’ Given that the platform is relatively new, yet has rapidly become one of the primary means for youth political engagement, this research is among the initial studies in this area. This study investigates: (1) the combinations of humor types and styles primarily found in TikTok videos referring to politics during the Dutch 2023 parliamentary elections, including the meaning-making styles and modes of engagement employed in them; (2) the use of humor types and attitudes towards the message or topic in these videos; and (3) the use of visual, audio, and editing elements to convey humor. This is accomplished through a mixed-methods approach, involving both quantitative and qualitative content analysis of 127 videos collected between two months before and one month after election day, November 22, 2023. The analysis yields three main findings. Firstly, the predominant humor types in the sample are ‘exaggeration’ and ‘silliness.’ Secondly, 80.4% of all posts contain a referential message. Thirdly, political humor videos during the period of the Dutch 2023 elections consist of an almost even distribution of virals and memes, each with its own distinctive characteristics, that are enhanced by the use of audio, visual and editing elements. TikTok thus emerges as a platform where a broad spectrum of possibilities coexist: a blend of silly nonsense and a significant role in the media landscape as a space for substantive political discourse.