What do you go on social media for? Maybe to laugh at a cat playing a piano, to see a soldier returning back to his family or even learn a new cooking recipe. Instagram, Twitter and now TikTok are commonly used, but politics are now garnering more attention on these platforms.

The 2020 election has sparked many users on TikTok to not only showcase their political support, but to post comedic content based on current events. Everything from a humorous impression of Senator Elizabeth Warren to people criticizing others of supporting President Donald Trump, TikTok has gained over 121 million views on the hashtag #politics and more than 55 million on hashtag #trump.

With over 500 million monthly users on the TikTok platform and most of those users ranging from the ages of 16 to 24, it is no wonder that the political impact of these videos on young voters is being questioned. According to John Compton – this is not anything new. Compton, the chair of the political science department, said the combination of politics and satirical humor is a common occurrence, with precedent largely set by political sketches on “Saturday Night Live” and the commentaries of late-night hosts like Johnny Carson and David Letterman. Compton told The Panther that political comedy on television tends to strengthen one’s beliefs – not move them from one side of the political spectrum to the other. Bringing up comedian Chevy Chase’s 1970s portrayal of former president Gerald Ford – which made the former president out as a complete klutz – Compton pointed to the notion that impressions like that can catch on and shape people’s perspectives of the president.

“Politics has always been mixed up with entertainment in terms of how people consume news,” Compton said. “It has definitely played more of a reinforcing role rather than a persuading role.”

Many political videos on TikTok and other social media platforms may appear harmless, but according to sophomore Giovanna Potestio, they could potentially sway people in a different political direction or cause confusion. Several months ago, many users on TikTok posted videos joking about being drafted for “World War III,” which Potestio said was posted by people who did not understand the policies involved and could scare others viewing this content. Since then, the app announced that political content will be censored if it does not fall under the category of “creative and joyful.”

“Freedom of speech is obviously a thing,” Potestio said. “But there is a small percentage of people who do take stuff like that more seriously than it’s meant to and distort someone’s opinion.”

TikTok is not the only platform with an increasingly large political community – Instagram and Twitter are following in the same steps. Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who threw his hat into the Democratic presidential primary approximately nine months after candidates like Bernie Sanders, has hired social media creators within the last week to collaborate with his presidential campaign and establish a presence in the meme-world.

Although this strategy may have never been done before, many popular comedic Instagram accounts like @f**kjerry and @tank.sinatra have agreed to post sponsored content. There still may be the question that if this is a tactic candidates should keep an eye on, but Potestio said it may just be a matter of getting a candidate’s name on every possible platform.

“Publicity is publicity – no matter if it’s good or bad,” Potestio said.