Personalisation and Performed Authenticity in Political Content on TikTok: A Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis of Liberal Alliance's Campaign in the 2022 Danish General Election

Abstract: This research analyses the presence of political personalisation and its role in establishing performed authenticity in political content on TikTok. Despite TikTok being a platform created for entertainment purposes, TikTok has come to play a significant role in political discourse and engagement with politicians Employing a qualitative approach to Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis, this research has sought to analyse how the Danish political party Liberal Alliance and their party leader, Alex Vanopslagh, used political personalisation to establish performed authenticity during the Danish general election of 2022. The research undertakes an analysis of the top 30 most popular videos by Liberal Alliance posted during the election campaign. The findings indicate that Liberal Alliance exhibits a professional level of political personalisation to perform authenticity. Liberal Alliance does not rely on the sharing of personal information to appear authentic, but rather through multimodal elements concerning his official role as a politician. As such, Liberal Alliance were found to apply a strategy with the primary intention of creating a persona which is relatable and down-to-earth to the target audience with content that seeks to inform, promote, and mobilise. The analysis also revealed that Liberal Alliance conforms to media logic by leveraging TikTok’s affordances to provide more personalised content, as well as catering to various user gratifications such as information-seeking, entertainment, and personal identity. This research contributes to the limited existing knowledge of political personalisation within the context of TikTok, shedding light on its implications for democratic processes and political engagement among younger audiences. The growing popularity of political personalisation in political strategies necessitates scholarly attention to comprehend its potential advantages or implications for democratic systems. By examining the specific case of Liberal Alliance on TikTok, this study offers valuable insights into the strategic use of personalisation and authenticity in contemporary political communication on social media platforms.