Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

New trends in digital diplomacy : The rise of TikTok and the geopolitics of algorithmic governance

Fjällhed, Alicia LU ; Lüfkens, Matthias and Sandre, Andreas (2024) In Oxford Handbooks p.288-296
Abstract
TikTok’s viral short-video app has seen tremendous global growth, but its adoption in foreign policy and digital diplomacy is still low. Some diplomatic actors have refrained from developing a presence on TikTok due to geopolitical concerns emerging from TikTok’s Chinese ownership. Other diplomatic actors have established a presence on the platform due to its ability to make content with high engagements, reaching a young audience. The chapter observed three principal objectives when employing TikTok for digital diplomacy: 1) educating young audiences and raising awareness about current issues, including Covid-19 and the War in Ukraine; 2) countering misinformation and disinformation; 3) putting vulnerable communities at the forefront and... (More)
TikTok’s viral short-video app has seen tremendous global growth, but its adoption in foreign policy and digital diplomacy is still low. Some diplomatic actors have refrained from developing a presence on TikTok due to geopolitical concerns emerging from TikTok’s Chinese ownership. Other diplomatic actors have established a presence on the platform due to its ability to make content with high engagements, reaching a young audience. The chapter observed three principal objectives when employing TikTok for digital diplomacy: 1) educating young audiences and raising awareness about current issues, including Covid-19 and the War in Ukraine; 2) countering misinformation and disinformation; 3) putting vulnerable communities at the forefront and empowering young people. The chapter also focuses on TikTok as a case where the international geopolitics of algorithmic governance has grown salient in the public debate, hoping to serve as a first step towards a theoretical conversation in digital diplomacy on the matter. This new interest concerns a deeper level of influence over public political debates, from an interest in actor’s participation in digital conversations to an understanding of how influence can be asserted through the algorithmic structures determining the possible scope of and promoted voices in such conversation. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
keywords
tiktok, algorithmic cogernance, geopolitics, disinformation, misinformation, digital diplomacy, china, viral content
host publication
The Oxford Handbook of Digital Diplomacy
series title
Oxford Handbooks
editor
Bjola, Corneliu and Manor, Ilan
pages
288 - 296
publisher
Oxford University Press
ISBN
9780192859198
9780191949715
DOI
10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192859198.013.15
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
d522875e-89dc-4563-9fd4-2f2a5dc5ac44
date added to LUP
2024-02-11 16:17:41
date last changed
2024-02-12 08:33:32
@inbook{d522875e-89dc-4563-9fd4-2f2a5dc5ac44,
  abstract     = {{TikTok’s viral short-video app has seen tremendous global growth, but its adoption in foreign policy and digital diplomacy is still low. Some diplomatic actors have refrained from developing a presence on TikTok due to geopolitical concerns emerging from TikTok’s Chinese ownership. Other diplomatic actors have established a presence on the platform due to its ability to make content with high engagements, reaching a young audience. The chapter observed three principal objectives when employing TikTok for digital diplomacy: 1) educating young audiences and raising awareness about current issues, including Covid-19 and the War in Ukraine; 2) countering misinformation and disinformation; 3) putting vulnerable communities at the forefront and empowering young people. The chapter also focuses on TikTok as a case where the international geopolitics of algorithmic governance has grown salient in the public debate, hoping to serve as a first step towards a theoretical conversation in digital diplomacy on the matter. This new interest concerns a deeper level of influence over public political debates, from an interest in actor’s participation in digital conversations to an understanding of how influence can be asserted through the algorithmic structures determining the possible scope of and promoted voices in such conversation.}},
  author       = {{Fjällhed, Alicia and Lüfkens, Matthias and Sandre, Andreas}},
  booktitle    = {{The Oxford Handbook of Digital Diplomacy}},
  editor       = {{Bjola, Corneliu and Manor, Ilan}},
  isbn         = {{9780192859198}},
  keywords     = {{tiktok; algorithmic cogernance; geopolitics; disinformation; misinformation; digital diplomacy; china; viral content}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{01}},
  pages        = {{288--296}},
  publisher    = {{Oxford University Press}},
  series       = {{Oxford Handbooks}},
  title        = {{New trends in digital diplomacy : The rise of TikTok and the geopolitics of algorithmic governance}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192859198.013.15}},
  doi          = {{10.1093/oxfordhb/9780192859198.013.15}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}