How TikTok could help determine Queensland's state election

2 hours ago

Nine

As Queenslanders head to the polls tomorrow, politicians are doing everything they can to secure those final votes.

Queensland election - Figure 1 — Photo Nine

Unlike state elections gone by, the race's frontrunners, Labor's Steven Miles and the Liberal National Party's David Crisafulli, are taking their campaigns to TikTok in a bid to score a new audience of voters.

Griffith University TikTok expert Dr Susan Grantham says it's about personal politics, making us feel like we're mates with who we're voting for and being able to interact with the candidates.

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Premier Steven Miles wants voters to keep Labor in power. (A Current Affair)

"When someone has a TikTok account, we can feel connected to them, and we see it in celebrities," Grantham said.

And it's not just for the younger voters - there's TikTokers of all age, often people who don't use traditional sources of information.

Queensland election - Figure 2 — Photo Nine

"So the fact that this is opening up doors for people who would otherwise not be engaging in this political content, for them to find out more than they otherwise would, is really, really important," Grantham said.

The irony in the TikTok takeover is that governments are banning the platform left right and centre.

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Opposition Leader David Crisafulli is seeking to be the first LNP premier since Campbell Newman. (A Current Affair)

The Commonwealth and every state and territory has barred it from government owned devices over security concerns, so politicians must source other phones to produce content for the app.

As entertaining and addictive as scrolling can be, it comes with this word of warning.

"Take it with a grain of salt, but make sure that you are engaging and learning and critically, questioning everything that you see," Grantham said.

"If you find that your algorithm is pushing you down a particular path, actively force it to take the other side as well, so that you're getting that balanced view."