Intelligencer - Joe Biden’s TikTok Troubles

In a January social-media post, MSNBC host Chris Hayes wondered, “Do the Biden campaign people understand the degree to which he is being *annihilated* on the social media platforms where young people get most to all of their news and information about the world?”

The premise was fair and the question reasonable. In popular videos on social-media platforms favored by young people, especially TikTok and Instagram, Joe Biden is frequently portrayed — by progressives, not MAGA acolytes — as a doddering old man, a corrupt Establishment tool, as a failure on environment issues and student-loan forgiveness, and as either complicit in or actively supporting war crimes or genocide. During the 2020 election, the Biden campaign was proudly aloof from much of social media, won anyway, and has since claimed vindication for its light-touch strategy of selective engagement, influencer partnerships, and cultivating “Facebook moms.” Maybe they really don’t know what’s going on out there, which doesn’t seem ideal, or maybe they just don’t care, which seems like a risk worth talking about.

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