Date of Graduation

5-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Political Science (MA)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Political Science

Advisor/Mentor

Baptist, Najja K.

Committee Member

Banton, Caree A.

Second Committee Member

Peay, Periloux C.

Keywords

Marginalization; Social Media; TikTok; Truth Social

Abstract

While studies of social media as a political landscape often focus on established platforms like Twitter. They neglect emerging spaces like TikTok, the short-form video app, which has become an unexpected hub for political discourse. This study test Melissa Harris-Perry's "everyday talk" framework to analyze the political utility of this new digital space. Through analysis of 271 posts across TikTok, Twitter/X, and Truth Social, the research reveals how platforms simultaneously enable and constrain political discourse. Findings show verified accounts post political content 3.2 times more often than regular users, while political posts receive 167% more reposts, demonstrating how algorithms amplify certain voices while marginalizing others. The study examines this paradox through cases like #SilentRiot's digital protests and Palestinian journalists using TikTok to counter mainstream narratives, showing how marginalized groups repurpose platforms for resistance despite corporate and state surveillance. As platforms face existential threats from bans and co-optation (exemplified by the TikTok ban debate), the paper argues these digital spaces have become modern infrastructures of liberation that replicate historical patterns of Black political discourse while confronting new challenges of algorithmic bias and platform capitalism. The research demonstrates that TikTok transformation of "everyday talk" represents both unprecedented opportunities for marginalized communities to shape narratives and new vulnerabilities requiring urgent protection.

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