In this talk, Paolo Gerbaudo considers the rise of “TikTok politics” and the chronic crisis of confidence in contemporary politics.

The Leader’s Aura: Online Sentiment, TikTok Charisma and the Crisis of Political Trust

Contemporary politicians increasingly resemble social media influencers: histrionic performers accompanied by a video production team as they visit shopping malls, construction sites, factories, rural communities or interact with actual influencers. The rise of what is sometimes described as “TikTok politics” - exemplified by leftwing figures such as Zohran Mamdani in the US, Andy Burnham in the UK, and rightwing figures such as Javier Milei in Argentina and Abelardo de la Espriella in Colombia - has by now been acknowledged as a marker of contemporary politics; but one which typically elicits either moralistic disapproval or instrumental admiration. I shall propose that this trend warrants serious examination, approaching it as the symptom of some of the key tendencies of contemporary politics and in particular the profound crisis of trust which affects democratic institutions. As politicians dedicate significant time to broadcasting their personas, revealing their private life the “backstage” of public addresses, they are striving hard to manufacture a resource that is extremely scarce in contemporary politics: trust. In this context, “farming aura” – accumulating charisma through online performances – becomes a means for politicians to project themselves as both capable and credible, as magnetic leaders capable of inspiring voters, and loyal representatives of their constituents. Certainly, this is not a long-term or structural solution to the chronic crisis of confidence in politics. But this trend is at least a reminder that democratic politics always involves winning over people’s trust and theatrical ability in public performance - and that this tendency is especially relevant at a time when charismatic-plebiscitary leadership is on the rise and is mediated by “vertical video” with the accompanying illusion of a "digital eye-contact" between leaders and their supporters.

About the speaker

Paolo Gerbaudo is a Senior Researcher at the Department of Political Science at Complutense University in Madrid and was previously a Reader in Digital Politics at King's College London where he founded the Centre for Digital Culture. He is the author of 4 books on the transformation of politics in a digital society Tweets and the Streets (2012), The Mask and the Flag (2017), The Digital Party (2019), and The Great Recoil (2021). He is currently writing a book on the politics of online sentiment.

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