Every party in the UK recognises that social media could be the deciding factor in the next general election, but none have figured out the best way to use it. None, that is, except Nigel Farage, who has struck gold in the past two years through his mastery of short-form content: the dopamine-inducing 30-second to two-minute videos found on TikTok and Instagram Reels.
This new form of political advertising is as powerful as it is dangerous. Studies repeatedly show that short-form content is exceptionally addictive, having long-term effects on our attention span. Yet in politics, any crisis can be turned into an opportunity.
The scramble for social media
Demographics so often decide elections. By 2029, some members of Gen Z, the first generation to grow up entirely online, will be 32. Gen Z relies on social media not just for entertainment, but also as their primary source of news. Keir Starmer’s extension of the franchise to 16-year-olds will only deepen this digital demographic disparity. While Labour’s leadership and CCHQ are presumably aware of this, neither has produced a strategy to win over voters stuck in the doom scroll.
The current landscape on social media for UK parties is rather poor. X (formerly Twitter) is the most followed platform for Labour, the Conservatives, the Lib Dems and the Greens. However, X, formerly a social media titan, is steadily waning in relevance. Where Gen Z spends their time – on Instagram and TikTok – these parties have only a fraction of the followers. Meanwhile, their output straddles the line between cringeworthy and empty.
From views to votes
Social media has already won elections. In 2024 Trump secured the plurality of men aged 18-29, not through his Truth Social tirades, but by mastering short-form content. Podcast appearances, conversing with hosts such as media juggernaut Joe Rogan and internet personality Logan Paul, produced numerous viral clips seen by millions.
The issue every British Party has faced, which Trump overcame, is authenticity. Like parents trying to use slang, political parties will always ruin the joke by trying to get in on it. In 2024, Trump let others do his promotion for him, with everyone from mainstream content creators to anonymous bots helping to build his digital campaign by reposting clips of him. Unlike official GOP campaign material, these clips, through their lack of polish, helped create genuinely engaging content that got voters listening to Trump.
In the UK, however, Farage has found a different approach. On TikTok, his personal account has amassed 1.3 million followers. Spurring his channel’s growth are a series of videos where Farage simply talks to the camera about an issue in the news. The secret ingredient is Farage’s call to discuss in the comments – a façade of humility covertly pushing his content up the algorithm by boosting engagement.
But Farage is not the only UK politician to realise the power of TikTok, as Tory shadow minister Robert Jenrick has recently entered the fray. Jenrick’s May 2025 stunt, filming himself confronting Tube fair dodgers has amassed 1.3 million views. However, for the moment, Jenrick has only achieved a modest 26,000 followers, lacking the charisma to become a social media superstar.
Mastering the algorithm
Short-form content is the perfect political tool. Like opinions, these videos are cheap. So, as most parties continue to pump money into paid advertising spots, Farage can rely on the TikTok algorithm to promote his videos for free.
More alluring is the opportunity short-form gives to control the narrative. There are no tricky questions when you decide what the questions are. Anyone who does appear in an interview can still repost the most flattering clips on their own social media pages.
But the greatest strength of short-form videos is authenticity. In sharp contrast to Labour’s cringeworthy memes, in the 2024 election, Farage has used TikTok to convince voters he’s ‘down to earth’, reinforcing his populist persona as a ‘man of the people’. Politicians creating videos don’t have to practise parroting the party line and can instead carefully craft their message in a way that comes across as genuine.
The cost of our attention
While political parties benefit from cheap communications, we consumers pay the real price. Studies into the neurological effects of short-form content are ongoing, but present evidence is worrying. Academics find that short-form content negatively affects our ability to recall information, far more than other forms of online content. As noted above, research has also highlighted the growing prevalence of short video addiction and the demonstrable effect that this addiction has on our brain structure.
What is clear from all of these studies is that short-form content, more than any other social media, is the master of holding our attention. Yet the idea that politicians might regulate this addictive form of content, seems impossible. In an increasingly fractured political landscape, where even the Conservative party is struggling to stay in the conversation, the price of our attention has never been higher.
Memes and paid adverts reinforce perceptions of politicians as out of touch with the public. But with the right touch of authenticity, videos have the power to change these perceptions.
So, as parties scramble to dominate social media, the real battle is keeping our attention – and short-form content is winning.
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