Young Left Voters and TikTok: Between Brainrot and Hope

H eidi Reichinnek speaks energetically in the Bundestag, techno music plays in the background. Laser beams shoot out of Jan van Aken's eyes. Gregor Gysi appears with "DJ Gysi" in a black balaclava and addresses the audience with: "Hey, sweeties."

The fact that the Left Party achieved 8.8 percent in the federal election is also thanks to its presence on social media and especially on Tiktok. In the under-25 age group, the party is comfortably ahead of the AfD with 25 percent.

The party was so successful on Tiktok because it relied on brain rot content (keyword: laser vision). The term brain rot describes content that, due to its trivial, blunt and, above all, stupid nature, leads to a supposed mental deterioration of a person. This blunt humor is particularly popular on Tiktok and generates many clicks in a short space of time.

But don't get me wrong: The Left's campaign on Tiktok was not limited to brain-teasing content. Quite the opposite. The Left relies on content on social media. It explains why a rent cap, raising the minimum wage to 15 euros, taxing the super-rich and taking a clear stance against the right are so important. It stands up for the socially disadvantaged and criticizes the wealth of the rich instead of ogling them, as many other parties do. This is how it appeals to young voters.

Of course, Tiktok is not the only way for the Left to advertise. They have found the right balance between door-to-door campaigning, demonstrations and short Tiktok clips. They are relying on a strategy that political and communications consultant Johannes Hillje puts as follows: "You can't win over young voters without social media, but you can't win them over through social media alone."

The Left has replaced the FDP as the opposition party. While under the grand coalition the FDP was still seen as a young and energetic party, young people today see it as unrealistic and out of touch with reality . The FDP, as a party for the rich, contradicts the values ​​of the young generation, which wants to fight poverty and reduce the wealth gap.

So far, it is mainly the Left and the AfD who have cracked the Tiktok algorithm. They do this through black-and-white thinking and exaggeration. But the polarization of the Left gives young people like me confidence. It shows us that there is a party that really cares about us. It does not ignore our moral ideas like other parties do. It does not laugh at us as "know-it-alls" when we stand up for human rights and empathy, but shows that these values ​​can be implemented in politics.

The party is now the loud left-wing voice in right-wing Germany. At demonstrations against the right, it stands firmly on the side of young demonstrators in particular. When CDU leader Friedrich Merz voted together with the AfD, the Left fought against the shift to the right, for example with Heidi Reichinnek's speech in the Bundestag, which went viral on social media. And it campaigns for the rights of LGBTQIA+ people, for migrants, for people who can barely pay their rent.

For me and my friends and all the other young people who are afraid now. The left shows young people that not everything is lost. It shows them that their existence, their visibility and their rights are being fought for. It gives perspective, gives hope.

And that is exactly why she is elected.