Instagram and TikTok in the European Elections

Comparison of Content by Bündnis 90/Die Grünen and AfD on Instagram and TikTok
in Context of the European Elections
 

Research paper in the study program Media, Technology & Society in the module Laboratory A (1st semester)

submitted by Selina Ferrari & Elena Friedrich
supervised by Prof. Dr. Peter Schumacher & Prof. Dr. Patricia Bliemeister

Introduction / Initial Problem

Social Media is increasingly shaping political discourse, especially among younger audiences. While the AfD has gained considerable influence, which is reflected both in the election results and in its growing presence on Social Media Bündnis90/Grüne are increasingly facing criticism and hostility. This development and the contrasting ideologies of the two parties provide a unique opportunity to explore how these parties present themselves on Instagram and TikTok in context of the European Elections in 2024. 

Method

Our central research question was “How does the content of the Grüne and AfD on Instagram and TikTok diYer in terms of topics, tonality, rhetoric and visual presentation?” To answer this question, we conducted a qualitative content analysis according to Kuckartz on 15 posts per party and platform including hashtags and descriptions. We created a codebook with categories such as topics, tonality, people, visual elements, populist rhetoric and emotional campaigning. 

Results

Our analysis of the digital content from Die Grünen and AfD on TikTok and Instagram highlights key diYerences in rhetoric, topics, and presentation. The AfD primarily used populist rhetoric, focusing on the topics safety and immigration and often employing negative emotional appeals to stir fear and discontent. In contrast, the Grüne's messaging on climate and democracy combined negative emotions with a hopeful outlook on future policies. Both parties used distinctive visual identities: They both maintained consistent party branding, though the Grüne promoted pro-European sentiment with the EU flag while the AfD used the German flag symbolizing their anti-European attitude. Finally, while the Grüne mostly shared the same content across both platforms, the AfD’s TikTok account only featured videos from their speeches in the German parliament and leaned toward confrontational rhetoric, often directed at individual politicians. Ultimately, the comparative analysis underscores how these parties' online strategies reflect their distinct political ideologies.

Conclusion & Outlook

The analysis confirms that the AfD and Grüne diYer fundamentally in their online content, reflecting the AfD's populist stance and the Grüne's climate focus. The Grüne largely recycles content across Instagram and TikTok without tailoring it to each platform, suggesting a minimal platform-specific strategy while the only oYicial AfD TikTok account on federal level shares especially polarizing content. Due to the small sample size and the election-centric timeframe, the generalizability of the findings is very limited. Future research could explore how diYerent social media content impacts voters' views and the parties’ success, particularly in light of evidence suggesting that provocative, emotional content—often used by populist parties—gains more traction on social media. This raises broader questions about the role of regulation in limiting algorithm-driven exposure to polarizing political content.