Tik Tok and the alleged glitches in 2020 and 2021 - Algorithmic discourse on Tik Tok by a new generation of activists How do Black activist Tik Tok engage in the algorithmic perception discourse and perpetuate social justice?

Abstract

This thesis investigates the strategies and perspectives of Tik Tok users and producers as they engage with the platform's algorithm and Tik Tok’s platform governance that influences their content creation and distribution. The thesis claims that Tik Tok activists and the BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) community generate activistic Tik Tok videos by mixing notions of counterpublics and video activism. Counterpublics are publics where discourse can take place, apart from official publics such as news. While Tik Tok creators produce them with counterpublics and video activism ideas, the content is thematizing platform governance, algorithms, and racial justice issues in our society. This thesis investigates the strategies and styles of key figures (Onani Banda and Ziggi Tyler) of the specific Black Lives Matter discourse events during the summer of 2021 and 2020 and the resulting algorithmic discourse. Using the method of critical discourse analysis inspired by Fairclough (1992), this paper investigates the style of activistic Tik Tok videos and the discursive techniques of Onani Banda and Tyler. Furthermore, it examines the topics and issues combined within the platforms' videos and explores a new genre of activism specific to our digital platform age.