Visual Politics: TikTok versus Instagram in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election
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Visuals are effective forms of political communication online. However, there is scant comparisons between Instagram and TikTok, the two largest visual social media platforms. Using 814,810 Instagram posts and 1,174,086 TikTok posts curated from the same keywords, we analyze divergences across the two platforms in the 2024 United States Presidential Election. Results reveal collaboration increases engagement on social network-based platforms (Instagram) and decreases engagement on algorithm-driven platforms (TikTok). We find TikTok decreases the exposure of right-leaning content, with possible downstream effects on engagement. Top content on Instagram is driven by established media accounts, whereas TikTok features more individual commentators.
