Here is how PM Orbán uses TikTok to gain youth’s vote

This summer, from his active account that has been buzzing for the past six months, he made a spirited entrance onto TikTok, announcing, “Hey, folks, I’ve just arrived on TikTok!” The announcement itself exuded a youthful vibe, as he playfully parodied himself by alluding to a past interview with Telex. In the original video, the portal’s journalist tries to engage the prime minister, arriving from a church service, in a conversation about poverty, to which he simply responds, “Hey, I’ve just come from the church!” (“Ember, most jövök a templomból!”).

Viktor_a_tiktokon’s page has garnered nearly 120,000 followers, with his posts amassing a total of 2.1 million likes (Viktor_a_tiktokon means Viktor on TikTok). With these impressive figures, the Prime Minister is comfortably leading the pack among all Hungarian politicians and parties on the platform.

No communication, only boosting popularity

As Népszava writes, Orbán, one of the foremost figures in public office, lends his image to videos on TikTok that often lack substantive communication or content, existing solely to boost popularity.

“TikTok represents a generational leap. While Facebook hosts broad masses of voters, Instagram, mainly image-centric, was popularised by the 30-40 age group, who have also entered the voting age and are more active in politics due to their age. However, the younger generation always seeks opportunities where they can be present without the older generation, and currently, that space is TikTok,” emphasised Merkovity Norbert.

“Regardless of what anyone says, there is demand for Viktor Orbán, adorned in a drawn Santa hat or playing the role of a Western hero,” expressed Lévai, who believes that the Prime Minister’s videos clearly demonstrate a significant amount of behind-the-scenes work. “These are fast, dynamic, finely crafted videos.”

Even though it seems that Orbán Viktor being present and active on TikTok, the platform of the youth, definitely reaches its goal of generating popularity, whether this role fits the country’s foremost figure still remains a question.

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