Instagram and TikTok in the European Elections

Comparison of Content by Bündnis 90/Die Grünen and the AfD on Instagram and TikTok
in the context of the European elections

Research paper for the Media, Technology & Society degree programme, as part of the Laboratory A module (1st semester)

submitted by Selina Ferrari & Elena Friedrich
supervised by Prof. Dr Peter Schumacher & Prof. Dr Patricia Bliemeister

Introduction / Initial Problem

Social media is increasingly shaping political discourse, particularly amongst younger audiences. Whilst the AfD has gained considerable influence – as reflected both in election results and in its growing presence on social media – Bündnis90/Grüne are facing increasing criticism and hostility. This development and the contrasting ideologies of the two parties provide a unique opportunity to explore how these parties present themselves on Instagram and TikTok in the context of the 2024 European elections.

Method

Our central research question was: “How does the content posted by the Grüne and the AfD on Instagram and TikTok differ in terms of topics, tone, rhetoric and visual presentation?” To answer this question, we conducted a qualitative content analysis based on Kuckartz’s methodology on 15 posts per party and platform, including hashtags and descriptions. We created a codebook with categories such as topics, tone, people, visual elements, populist rhetoric and emotional campaigning.

Results

Our analysis of the digital content from the Greens and the AfD on TikTok and Instagram highlights key differences in rhetoric, topics and presentation. The AfD primarily used populist rhetoric, focusing on the topics of security and immigration and often employing negative emotional appeals to stir up fear and discontent. In contrast, the Greens’ messaging on climate and democracy combined negative emotions with a hopeful outlook on future policies. Both parties used distinctive visual identities: they both maintained consistent party branding, though the Greens promoted pro-European sentiment with the EU flag whilst the AfD used the German flag to symbolise their anti-European stance. Finally, whilst the Greens mostly shared the same content across both platforms, the AfD’s TikTok account only featured videos of their speeches in the German parliament and leaned towards confrontational rhetoric, often directed at individual politicians. Ultimately, the comparative analysis highlights how these parties’ online strategies reflect their distinct political ideologies.

Conclusion & Outlook

The analysis confirms that the AfD and the Greens differ fundamentally in their online content, reflecting the AfD’s populist stance and the Greens’ focus on climate issues. The Greens largely reuse content across Instagram and TikTok without adapting it to each platform, suggesting a minimal platform-specific strategy, whilst the only official AfD TikTok account at federal level shares particularly polarising content. Due to the small sample size and the election-focused timeframe, the generalisability of the findings is very limited. Future research could explore how different social media content influences voters’ views and the parties’ success, particularly in light of evidence suggesting that provocative, emotional content—often used by populist parties—gains more traction on social media. This raises broader questions about the role of regulation in limiting algorithm-driven exposure to polarising political content.