Amar Gbebane first started posting on TikTok in August 2022. Initially, the South African activist’s videos included commentary on social issues such as economic inequality and xenophobia. Though she had a following, she didn’t have a large audience.
Gbebane’s big break came in 2023 when she posted a video series discussing her political views. The series went viral and her following began to grow rapidly.
“I became interested in politics when I was observing political conversations in my family,” said Ghebaneh, who now has more than 161,000 followers on TikTok. Rest of the world. “I felt there was an education gap and it was a bit difficult for me to accept the lack of knowledge among young people.”
Over the past year, Gbane’s TikTok content has focused on persuading young South Africans to take part in the country’s general election, which took place on May 29. In 2019, turnout among young South African voters was low, with just 15% of 18-19 year olds and 30% of 20-29 year olds voting.
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Gbebane is one of several young South African political influencers using TikTok to engage young voters in this year’s elections, a trend that experts believe could have a major impact on the election outcome given the social media platform’s popularity in the country.
“If you look at the demographics of the electorate… a large proportion of the electorate are young people and this age group is active on social media,” said Edwin Ingi, a postdoctoral researcher in the University of South Africa’s political science department. Rest of the World“Social media cannot be ignored in this election as political parties are trying their best to reach out to these age groups. It will have a huge impact.”
Social media has had a far-reaching impact on South Africa’s political landscape, business and pop culture over the past decade, said Pedro Mzireni, a senior lecturer in sociology at the University of Zululand. Mail & Guardian “Most organisations, movements, businesses and individuals have accounts with followers on Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and WeChat. As a result, even political parties have recently realised the importance and influence of social media,” Mzireni wrote earlier this month.
By 2023, TikTok had 11.83 million South African users over the age of 18. According to data from analytics firm Meltwater, TikTok is the most popular short-form video app in South Africa, far ahead of Instagram, which has just 5.65 million users in the country.
One way influencers are encouraging young South Africans to vote is by encouraging them to register early. A year before the election, TikTok creator Zethu Gula, who has more than 275,000 followers, wrote: As one of her followers, Gucora added a voter registration link to her profile, urging viewers to click it at the end of every video. “It was a call to action, instead of just complaining about something that doesn’t have a solution,” she said in a podcast last month. Gucora said her efforts had helped register about 28,500 people ahead of this year’s elections.
Some other South African TikTok influencers have amassed huge followings and have attracted the attention of political parties.
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Dan Corder, who has 212,400 followers on TikTok, said in a podcast in January that he had been approached by two political parties to run for parliament because of his huge following.
“I think this is the first time in South African history that certain online content creators have the power to change the future of individual politicians,” Corder said in another podcast. “South African online creators now have such large audiences that they can engage with politics and create viral moments that can impact people’s perceptions in the same way that TV interviews can.”
As one of more than 50 countries holding elections this year, TikTok’s influence on the political landscape is not unique to South Africa. In the United States, President Joe Biden made the most of the app’s influence by hosting a White House event featuring notable influencers, including TikTok user Devon Rodriguez, who has about 34 million followers. “Your influence is overwhelming,” Biden told Rodriguez, who had 20 million followers at the time. The video of the visit is one of the most popular on his channel.
But there are limits to the power of social media when it comes to creating needed change in South African politics, said Tessa Doomes, programme director at political think tank Rivonia Circle. Rest of the World.
“The majority of young South Africans don’t have the luxury of social media and when you think about TikTok, Twitter and who’s on there and who’s represented, you miss that. [or] “Increasingly, we’re seeing this on Facebook,” she said. “We’re not taking into account under-resourced communities.”
