TikTok Intifada: Analyzing Social Media Activism Among Youth

Abstract Purpose This study uses TikTok as a novel medium to extend the literature on online activism. It adds to the emergent body of knowledge about playful political participation among youth. It also explores how creative micro-videos can be a force to create momentum and shape opinions around social and political topics. Design/methodology/approach A content analysis of 203 TikTok videos reflecting the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict that took place in Sheikh Jarrah in 2021, was used to understand the extent to which TikTok’s platform’s affordances were used and examine the message frames that emerged when online users disseminated messages of affect and solidarity with the Palestinians during the Sheikh Jarrah incident. Findings The study showed that TikTok affordances encourage virality and creative crafting of direct and indirect political content, making the platform a space for political expression, mobilization, and online activism. The affordances used during the TikTok Intifada were visibility, editability, association, and persistence. The two most prominent frames were the use of hashtags to promote the cause, followed by direct political content. Practical implications Researchers are given guidance on how TikTok design elements are now allowing a very young segment of users to become producers of political content in a way where messages are creatively crafted using the platform’s affordances. Social implications This study captured social media activism among a young segment of users on a playful platform. Youth are now able to raise awareness and call to action by capitalizing on platform affordances to create and spread content about a cause. Originality/value Using the connective-collective approach, this work adds a unique dimension to the literature on how TikTok is becoming a novel space for the emergence of grassroot movements among a very young segment of users and how hard political content has been adapted to fit the playful nature of this dynamic platform. The work also takes lead into studying the Palestinian Intifada in a virtual context, where an unusual activism frame emerged due to the nature of TikTok as a micro-video and innovative platform.